Mark
Sermons
A Traitor in The Midst | Mark 14:17-21
On the Ides of March 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was assassinated at a meeting of the Roman senate. Sensing a bad omen, his wife urged him to stay home. Yet he pressed his way to the meeting. Within minutes of his arrival, Caesar was stabbed twenty-three times by senators. The final wounds were inflicted by Marcus Julian Brutus, whom Caesar considered a son. His final words were to Brutus, “You too, child?” The assassination of Julius Caesar is considered the greatest act of betrayal in history. What Judas did to Jesus is infinitely worse than what Brutus did to Caesar. Brutus betrayed a tyrant in the making. Judas betrayed the incarnate Son of...
Sermons
Friend or Foe? | Mark 14:1-11
Mark 13 records the Olivet Discourse in which Jesus predicts his Second Coming at the end of the age. Mark 14 abruptly shifts from triumph to suffering. The one who will return in glory will die for the sins of the world. By the end of chapter 15, Jesus will be betrayed, arrested, condemned, crucified, and buried. Mark begins his Passion Narrative in our text. It is a chiastic “sandwich story.” Mark often begins a story, interrupts himself to tell a seemingly unrelated story, and then returns to finish the original story. This is what we find in verses 1-11. Verses 1-2 records the religious leaders’ plot to kill Jesus. Verses 3-9 records an unnamed woman’s love for Jesus. Verses 10-11 records Judas Iscariot’s...
Sermons
Stay Awake | Mark 13:32-37
Verse 33 says, “Be on guard, keep wake.” Verse 34 says the man of the house “commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.” Verse 35 says, “Therefore stay awake.” Verse 37 says, “And what I say to you I say to all: “stay awake.” The repeated command to wakefulness and watchfulness is the dominating theme of the Olivet Discourse. As Jesus left the temple in Jerusalem for the last time, he predicted it would be destroyed. When they reached the Mount of Olives, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked follow-up questions. Verse 4 says, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished.” They asked a time question and a sign question. Verses 5-37 record Jesus’ answer to...
Sermons
The Lesson of the Fig Tree | Mark 13:28-31
When I was young, there was a “psychic” whose commercials regularly played on TV. Miss Cleo gave assurances she could reveal your future over the phone. There were clips of phone sessions to prove her assertions. Then she would say in a Jamaican accent, “Call me now!” The caption read: “First 3 minutes of each call free. Must be 18. For Entertainment Only.” Many make bold predictions about the future. Their prognostications are only useful for entertainment. Jesus is not a part of that list. You can live with confidence in what Jesus says about the future. That’s the message of Mark 13:28-31. It was Wednesday of Passion Week – Jesus’ last visit to...
Sermons
Jesus Is Coming Again | Mark 13:24-27
Some Christians are fanatical about biblical prophecy. They have an unhealthy fixation with the future, end-times, and Second Coming. It is easy to mock the caricature of the person who goes overboard about prophecy. But those who fit that category are few and far between. There are many more Christians who ignore the subject altogether. They have their heads in the sand, unable or unwilling to look up. The neglect of biblical prophecy is as bad as the abuse of it, maybe worse. The Old Testament is filled with prophecies of the coming of Christ. Did you know it is also filled with prophecies of his second coming? There are 1,845 predictions of the second coming in the Old Testament. There are 318 references to the second coming in the 260 chapters of...
Sermons
The Abomination of Desolation | Mark 13:24-27
After Jesus departed the temple in Jerusalem for the last time, a disciple pointed out the remarkable temple complex. Jesus responded by predicting the destruction of the temple. When Jesus stopped on the Mount of Olives, the “inner circle” asked follow-up questions in Mark 13:4: “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” The disciples asked two different questions: A Time Question: “When will these things be?” A Sign Question: “What will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” Verses 5-37 records the Lord’s answer. It is called “The Olivet Discourse.” This is the fullest answerJesus gave to...