Jesus knows that His followers are weak, and will fall away.He also knows what will happen to Him, that He will be struck down.This is a quote from Zechariah, which is a complicated book of prophecies.(Watch The Bible Project: Zechariah to get a sense of it).Zechariah offers both promises and warnings to the people of…
God’s sacrifice of love!
The phrase “blood of the covenant” is from Exodus 24.God brings the people to the base of Mount Sinai.He enters into a marriage-like relationship with the people. There were two kinds of sacrifices offered at that time.There was the burnt offering and the fellowship offering.The sacrificed animals represented God and the people.The burnt offering pointed to…
Any time you WANT!
If the poor are always with us, should we be as concerned about them?Some people use this line to justify the existence of poor people.Jesus isn’t affirming the rightness of poverty, but our problem.The poor are always with us because collectively humans don’t care.Ever since we doubted God’s goodness in Eden, we’ve become self-serving.“You can…
Lazy, bossy servants?
This is really the point of this whole section of teaching.‘Tough times are coming, but don’t forget your job while I’m gone’.Jesus has left the house and put His servants in charge.Not to do whatever they want, not to laze around doing nothing. So what is our job as servants of Jesus? “Whatever happens, conduct…
Seeing the Signs, Focusing on Jesus!
What does Jesus want us to learn from the fig tree? Some people see it as a secret clue. The nation of Israel was sometimes described as a fig tree (Hosea 9:10). These people think it refers to May 14, 1948, when Israel became a nation again. Within a generation of this date (40-80 years), Jesus…
Our God-like human ruler!
Jesus is quoting from the prophecy of Daniel here.Daniel has a vision of a series of four horrible beasts (empires).The probably empires are Assyria, Babylon, Greek and then Roman.These beasts are deviant forms of God’s good creation – monsters.The last one is the worse: “Terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth;…
Here we go again!?
These are disturbing words to hear, not inspiring.Jesus is using apocalyptic language to describe what is about to happen.If He said these things around AD 30, they came true in AD 70. After a 4 year rebellion in Judea, Rome hit the city hard.It began with a seige, leading many to die of starvation.Then the…
Jesus stands firm to the end!
Witnesses to good news!
This is our mission in a world that is crashing and collapsing.Now more than ever we need to be witnesses to the good news (gospel).But what exactly does this mean? Jesus preached the good news of the kingdom of God.He both demonstrated and declared God’s Way of restoring God’s world.He lived the Gospel, the Way…
Alarmed and deceived?
For many years I have lived in relative peace and stability.Big crises were happening around the world, but not where I lived.Some people experience dramatic upheaval and terrible circumstances.Jesus here warns that this is what will happen.“Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” (Mark 13:2)He describes buildings being…