Mark 14
It begins.
The decision to kill Jesus is set, and the course of history and prophecy is now in motion. Jesus, God's Son, sees everything that is about to unfold from a heavenly perspective. And those who think they have on have indeed lost. And those who think they have lost have indeed won.
Consider that the woman who anoints Jesus does so in love and service to Him, yet Jesus sees it as a preparation for what He knows is about to come. Everyone else was blissfully unaware of the significance of what this woman was doing, and as Jesus ordained, we are still speaking of her act of service 2000 years later.
During this brief insight Mark gives us into the last supper, we see Jesus prophesying about what will happen, which will scatter the 12. One would betray the Son into the hands of sinful men, but all would betray. We focus on Peter because the scriptures give us details of his betrayal, but the other ten also left Jesus in His time of need, just like Peter. None were faithful during this hour of need.
Yet they all were ready when the time came. Peter drew a sword and drew blood when their Master was arrested. It is evident that if Jesus had given the order, everyone would have been ready to strike out for Jesus. But the Savior orders them to put the sword up. And this submission to arrest confused and terrified the disciples. If they couldn't fight for Jesus, then they were at the mercy of sinners with bloodlust in their eyes. So they fled.
And it is during the meeting with the High Priest that the die is cast. Jesus looked at His high priest, the one He ordained for that position, and with firm resolve, told the man, “I AM.” Of all men, this one who was chosen to intercede for the people should have dropped to his knees, seeing that he was face to face with the One to whom he made intercession. Yet his heart was hardened. And instead of embracing the Son of God as Messiah, he played his part in delivering the holy Christ as the lamb who would be slain to take away the sins of the world.
Jesus, the Man, did not want to endure what was before Him, but Jesus, the Son of God, saw a sea of lost souls in whom He was their only hope. He would endure this alone, only with the Father to walk with Him through the coming few hours. He would endure because He loved us, and the Father would permit it, having loved the world so much that He was giving His only begotten Son for this hour.
Mark 15
The crucifixion of the Lord. Perhaps one of the most gut-wrenching things we read. And in the account that Mark leaves for us, we see the humility and unbelievable strength of Jesus under control. Consider…
Jesus, the Creator of all, is about to have nails made of iron ore that He placed deep into the earth driven into His body; He was about to be nailed to a cross of wood from the tree He created and whose seed He made and planted for this purpose; He was delivered to be crucified by a people He chose as His special people, and He was sentenced by the Romans who He ordained and placed in power by His sovereignty.
And yet, our Savior stood silent when reviled. These men thought they had the power and were exercising authority. But they did not know that they were sentencing the one Who made all things, the one Who could do all things, and the one Who could end all of this if it had been His will.
And so they give our God the worst they could offer. They nail Him to a tree and revile Him while He is suffering. The Romans mock Him, and the Jewish leaders laugh at Him; yet by His power, Jesus stays on the cross until His work is done. His spirit leaves the body, and He awaits to conquer death for each one of us.
Wealthy Joseph gives Him the respect and honor in His death that the people denied Jesus while He was on the cross. And as prophesied, Satan has bruised His heel.
But in three days, the death blow to Satan is coming...
Mark 16
This is where everything Jesus taught pointed. Even though Satan bruised His heel, a minor injury through the crucifixion, when He arose from the grave, Jesus delivered a death blow to Satan's head that would prove fatal (Genesis 3:15). That which was prophesied at the beginning of time was fulfilled in Mark 16.
And Jesus had told the disciples on many occasions He would die and would rise again. They should have been awaiting this with assurance and anticipation, but instead, they followed the natural progression of grief when we lose a loved one. They were in shock and denial. Even when people who saw the risen savior appear to them, when told that He lived, the apostles would not believe.
This led Jesus to rebuke them for their unbelief, not just in the testimony of the ones who were witnessing about the risen Savior but also because of their unbelief in Him and His word. Yet we see in other accounts that their denial and unbelief are quickly turned to joy and faith.
Perhaps there is a lesson here for us as well. We know that Jesus loves us and has promised never to leave or forsake us. He has promised to walk with us through every trial and hardship. He has promised that we will be able to endure anything He allows us to face. Yet, how many times do we feel abandoned and in despair? How many times does our belief waver toward unbelief?
Satan has lost. He knows it. There is no path to victory available to him. So, if he is going down, he is intent on taking as many with him as possible. In our moments of despair and grief, when it looks like we are all alone, let us remember that the Lord conquered that which only God could conquer. And because of that, we are more than conquerors because we bring ourselves into faith in Him, allowing ourselves to be wrapped up in His grace.
Mark shows us that Jesus is victorious. Let us not allow Satan to snatch away our blessed assurance from the victory our Lord has won for us. And let us remain true to His desire that we share this blessed assurance and Gospel with everyone we meet so they, too, can have the victory in Christ He made possible on the cross through His resurrection.
One day, billions of calendars will be useless. When the Lord comes, we will be on His timetable, and ours will no longer be important to us.
Let us plan our day, week, month, and year wisely.
Saturday musings: There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance.
I am in the book of 2 Kings in my daily Bible reading. It is a sad book of a people who had it all but lost it by rejecting God and turning from His way.
But even when the die was cast, and God determined to bring curses upon the people with no remedy, the book still shows God is full of grace. He rewarded those few kings who turned to Him in repentance.
Let us always turn to the Lord, even when the world, by its actions, demands God's curses upon it. God knows how to care for His own when He brings His judgments upon people.
Tomorrow is the total eclipse in Dallas. I have heard many people say they believe this will precipitate the return of King Jesus.
We remember that Jesus said no one knows the hour of His return, and there have been many total eclipses, none of which precipitated our King's return.
But let us not rule out tomorrow as being the day of His return. Perhaps His return will be on the day of an eclipse, a war, a natural disaster, or any number of “signs” we are convinced to look for.
Just as nothing will be the absolute sign Jesus will return, neither will anything be absolute proof He will not return. Tomorrow, let's enjoy this rare and beautiful event God has created while still being ready should He return.