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God Can Help Us Be Faithful
Mark 14:66-72
This second movement of the events of the cross takes us back to Peter. Jesus had shown Peter a prophecy from Zechariah that indicated Peter would scatter from him that very night (14:27). Peter didn't like it and told Jesus he would die before denying him. But Jesus told him he'd deny Him three times before the rooster crowed twice (14:30). This episode shows us the fulfillment of that prediction.
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God Must Open Eyes
Mark 14:53-65
Our previous passage led us to Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. All his disciples fled from him (50). Jesus was left with only his captors, and here we learn they took him directly, in the dead of night, to the high priest.
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The Ineffective Disciples
Mark 14:27-52
Last week, we saw how Jesus was the hero of this passage. We should also take note of the disciples. They were ineffective. The passage begins with them declaring they will never deny Jesus, and it ends with all of them, even an unnamed-linenless-dude, running away from Jesus.
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The Hero Christ
Mark 14:27-52
In this passage, we have a determined Jesus and ineffective disciples. Let's look at both, starting with Jesus.
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Christ’s Betrayal
Mark 14:27-52
The passage before us is raw. It feels too intimate for our eyes to behold. We shouldn't get such an honest glimpse into Jesus, into God, or into the disciples, we think.
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Why Should We Take Communion? Part 2
Mark 14:22-25
Communion offers us so much as believers in Christ. Last week, we began looking at some of the many reasons taking communion blesses and benefits the church – it reminds us of the incarnation, centers us on the atonement, emphasizes the importance of our personal faith, and communicates the unity of the church. Let’s continue looking at six more today.
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Why Should We Take Communion? Part 1
Mark 14:22-25
Mark tells us that Jesus and the disciples **were eating** the Passover meal when Jesus did something out of the ordinary (22). The customary Passover ceremony would have begun with a blessing over the group. Then, they would drink from the first cup of wine. Next, the youngest child in the group, perhaps John in this upper room, would ask, "Why is this night different from other nights?" The host or father of the group -- Jesus in this instance -- would then retell the events of the original Passover in Exodus.
Read moreThis is a piece I wrote for our recent worship night at our church. It is a historical fiction, based on Scripture(2 Sam. 11-12, Psalms 32, 51). I tried to put myself in David's sandals.
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The Great Tribulation: The End of the Age
Mark 13:15-23
All these exhortations Jesus gave during his teaching about the end of the age have a Jewish bent. Housetops were used in that region as a place for leisure in the cool of the evening. You could dine, relax, sleep, store goods, and pray on your home's flat roof. And Jesus had already said it was the citizens of Judea who should flee when the abomination of desolation occurs. Many Christians, when the armies of Titus began arriving at Jerusalem, did flee the city before the greatest destruction came.
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The Great Tribulation: The Abomination of Desolation & the Anti-Christ
Mark 13:14
On the Mount of Olives, overlooking the temple precincts, Jesus continued his teaching about the end of the age. Peter, John, James, and Andrew sat riveted as their Master explained the end times.
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