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MARK CHAPTERS 11 & 12 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel See previous page Mk 11,1-7 (14e) Servant >> Ministry of helps >> Being in charge of the details (35j) Gift >> God gives Himself to us >> Gifts from the Holy Spirit >> Spiritual gifts >> Knowing the mind of God – Jesus used the gift of knowledge when He told the disciples about the colt; He didn’t know everything; He left His omniscience in heaven. He walked in the Spirit by the same means that He has commanded us to walk, being our perfect example of a Christian. This story is a lesson on keeping our ears open to the voice of God, who has a unique purpose and calling for each of us, and its fulfillment will prove to be the most important thing we will ever do. We will receive help from Him to fulfill it, for it was by His help that Christ knew His calling. For this reason we need to keep our ears open and learn His voice and develop the hearing ear, and whatever gifts He has called us to exercise, we will walk in them. (72g) Authority >> Transferring authority >> Receiving the delegated authority of Christ – Sometimes we have special knowledge that the natural mind cannot discern, being the most important knowledge in our possession. Perhaps we have a complicated job and must know many things to accomplish our work, but what we know from God is far more important, for it will lead to fulfill our calling, which will lead to our own salvation and also the salvation of others. We have no idea what will be the effects of doing what God has called us to do. Sometimes His will doesn’t seem relevant, but if we remain obedient and do what we know, the truth will be revealed and then we will understand God’s purpose. We will develop the mind of Christ and begin to see a pattern and understand His ways, which will make it all the easier to hear His voice. God wants us to live spiritual lives; everything else we do outside His calling is temporal; only the things we do for God will have significance in eternity. To jump from one good work to another without knowing the specific will of God is shooting in the dark. We might have good intensions, but if we are not walking by faith, we cannot receive a full reward. Some think that the rewards of heaven are irrelevant, but those who believe that also think obeying God is optional. Mk 11,1-6 (152h) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> Witnesses of the father >> Prophets >> Jesus is a prophet >> Jesus prophesies about the fulfillment of Scripture KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mk 11,7-10 (215ia) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> Suddenly >> The Kingdom of Heaven appears suddenly >> Without warning >> Disciples expected the kingdom to appear immediately – The people got all excited about Jesus coming to town, knowing that He was either preparing to suddenly become their king and take over the city by force, though this diametrically opposed His character, or He would be killed. Everyone knew Jesus had enemies in Jerusalem, but for them to kill Him was unimaginable, especially to His twelve disciples. It simply didn’t fit with anything they understood about God. They equated strength to Him according to the Old Testament, and why not? He often showed strength to Israel, such as defeating their enemies the Egyptians and leading them into the promise land. He created the heavens and the earth, so of course He is strong; to be killed did not fit the Old Testament model of their God, or maybe they just didn’t know Him. The Pharisees and chief priests must have figured that the ultimate test to discern if this man truly is the Son of God, they would try to kill Him, and if they succeeded, then He wasn’t the Son of God, plus they would have rid Him from their lives, but if they could not kill Him, then they would bow to His superiority, but the religious leaders of Israel had no intensions of bowing to Him for any reason. They compared Jesus to their Old Testament manuscripts, and though they couldn’t find anything relating to Him, yet a person with eyes that worked could see the Scriptures describing His every move. The religious leaders of Israel were totally blind to Jesus; He was in their blind spot. They couldn’t see the forest through the trees. Kingdom to appear -- See: Mk 11-9,10; 177a Mk 11-9,10 (95a) Thy kingdom come >> False perspective in the world -- Those who were singing songs and worshipping Jesus were under the misconception that the Kingdom of God was about to appear immediately. Jerusalem was under the siege of Rome, so they must have expected Jesus to simply evict the current government from its seat and sit in their place. The people worshipping Him had seen many miracles from the Lord, but very little violence. Had they gotten their wish, it would have been a bloody scene, so their expectations were incredible. (177a) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> False doctrine >> Distorting Scripture from a lack of understanding -- It seems implausible to believe that the Davidic kingdom was about to be established by a man riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. The people expected the Kingdom of God to appear to them that day from a lack of understanding of the Scriptures. It has been 2000 years since Jesus walked the earth and His kingdom still hasn't come in power. Each year that passes denotes just how wrong they were and how little they understood of the Scriptures. When the Kingdom of God finally comes, it will be on a much grander scale than those were expecting on that day. The people a couple days later requested their king be crucified; after their hopes were dashed, they took out their frustration on the one who disappointed them, because they quit believing in Him. Jesus told them earlier, "Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God?" (Mk 12-24). Kingdom to appear -- See: Mk 11-9; 66c (252b) Trinity >> You shall put no other gods before Me >> Worship Jesus (Because He is equal with God) >> Jesus is worthy of our worship >> Worship Jesus for who he is Mk 11-9 (66c) Authority >> Lordship of Christ >> Jesus is Lord of His people – Jesus sat on a donkey and rode into Jerusalem just as it was written in Old Testament prophecy about their Messiah. His triumphant entry into the Holy City represents a time when His followers expected the Kingdom of God to appear immediately. Their level of expectation was at an all-time high, and it went from that to an all-time low at His crucifixion, so there was a wide range of emotions. During the Millennium Jesus will use Jerusalem (Zion) to set up His throne, and He will become king of the earth just as they expected 2000 years ago. Jesus never gave any sign or offered any suggestion to the effect that He was about to set up His physical kingdom on the earth at that time; rather all the signs were pointing in the opposite direction, that the greatest influence over the people from the building tension was making the looming reality clear that if He didn’t suddenly become king, the authorities would have their way with Him. Israel did not accept Jesus as their king the way He wanted them to accept Him. Although the people at the time may have appeared to worship Him, yet in their hearts they were worshipping a spurious facsimile of Him as though He would accept them in their sins. Jesus came to Jerusalem to die for their sins, and before that happened, He could not accept their worship. In other words, they may have well enough viewed Him as their Messiah, but they were not viewing Him in an accurate depiction of God. In a sense they were worshipping a foreign god through Christ, and in that sense it was idolatry. They didn’t appreciate Jesus or what He was doing. To the degree that the people were not accepting an accurate depiction of Him was the degree that He rejected them as His worshippers, but when He does establish His kingdom, after cleansing us from our sins, He will then value our worship, for then we will worship Him in Spirit and Truth. Kingdom to appear -- See: Mk 11,7-10; 215ia Mk 11-11 (246d) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> The true tabernacle – Jesus ventured into Israel's temple of worship, Jesus Himself the true tabernacle entered a simulation of His own ministry as High Priest. When he entered Jerusalem, many people thought He would take over the city, but they confused the office of King with that of a High Priest. His death would become the substance that the temple represented and fulfill the purpose of all the animal sacrifices made on its altar. Why did God make Israel wait so long before He visited them, making them worship Him through temple services from Moses until the time of Christ? The simple answer is that God is eternal; a thousand years is like a day to Him, so it was like He sent His Son the next day to become the sacrificial lamb to finalize their ministry. It just proves that God is unwilling to take on man’s perspective; instead, He wants us to view our temporal lives in light of eternity. In fact, God took on man's perspective when He sent His Son, made in the likeness of sinful flesh and assumed a body like ours and accepted a temporal existence. Now He wants us to assume His perspective. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mk 11,12-14 (27d) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Knowledge can bring a curse if you don’t walk in it -- These verses go with verses 20,21. It is scary when God curses something. Jesus cursed the fig tree, representing the Jewish nation of Israel for the last 2000 years, but the curse did not come from the Jews sacrificing their Messiah. The Father sent the Son for this very purpose that He might give His life a ransom to save the people from their sins. Rather, the curse came from their rejection of the gospel. Although it wasn’t the season for figs, still He expected the tree to bear fruit; that is a high demand in preseason. How much more does God demand fruit from us in season? Today is the season to bear fruit, so we should dedicate our lives to becoming fruit-bearing trees (See 2Cor 6-1,2 and Hebrews chapters 3,4). (128k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Bearing fruit >> Living a fruitful life >> It is a way of survival – Fig trees bear their fruit before they leaf, being perhaps the only fruit tree that does this, and this particular fig tree leafed early, so when Jesus saw the leaves, He naturally expected to see fruit on it. If we fail to bear fruit for the Kingdom of God, our faith will wither, and we could fall under God’s curse of unfruitfulness. This corresponds with the parable in Lk 13,6-9 about a fruit farmer who came to one tree that wasn’t producing fruit and said, “Why does it even use up the ground?” The farmer represents the Father, and the tree had an advocate, the Son, who asked for more time, attempting to save the tree with tender loving care and a little fertilizer, and said that if it doesn’t respond to kindness, cut it down. In that parable He gave the tree an opportunity to bear fruit, but in the case of Israel the tender loving care had already been given, and it didn’t respond, and so the nation withered. (146j) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Purpose of Miracles, Signs And Wonders >> Proof that Jesus is the son of God >> That the Church may believe (147h) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> God uses His power to be destructive -- These verses go with verses 20-24 (186k) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> The reprobate >> God’s role in forming a reprobate >> Rejected by God – To those who have been given much, much is expected. Maybe the fig tree was growing in an ideal setting with every opportunity availed to it. This tree may have been pampered so much that it should in fact have born figs out of season. The fig tree represented Israel, who had tremendous advantage over other nations to know their God, but they missed the time of His visitation. These are those whom God has less patience. With other trees that take root in less then ideal places and circumstances, their whole life a struggle if they bear any fruit at all, God is far more patient with them. (197e) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Fruitlessness >> A fruitless life offends God -- Jesus was looking for fruit when it was not the season for figs. There are times in all our lives when fruit on us is sparse if not absent. God is patient with us, more so than we should ever need, but He does have His limits. Those who refuse to show any fruit in their lives are close to being cursed and ends up being burned (Heb 6-7,8). We should never put ourselves in the position where we never bear fruit. He is willing to work with us for a while, but there comes a time when we are simply expected to bear fruit, and if we don't, then God Himself will cut us down. As an example of this, look at the nation of Israel, note how long God put up with their unbelief. Finally they rejected their own messiah and nailed Him to a cross. After that they rejected the message of the gospel, and this is where God's patience ran thin and He turned to the gentiles to make them jealous; but even then He has not given up on them entirely; they are scheduled to return to God in the last days, and God will receive them with open arms as the prodigal son. This is the level of patience that God has for His people. Mk 11-12 (37f) Judgment >> Judgment of God >> Jesus’ humanity >> Jesus had human limitations Mk 11-14 (85d) Thy kingdom come >> Words that are spoken in faith >> Powerful when spoken by the Spirit >> The spoken word of God (107b) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Word creates faith >> Jesus’ words create faith -- This verse goes with verses 20-24 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mk 11,15-18 (202h) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Running from the word of God >> Running from the witness of God (241k) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom >> Persecution to the death >> Kill Jesus because of what He did Mk 11,15-17 (69d) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Righteous anger >> God is angry at sin (178l) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Jesus rebukes the Pharisees >> Rebuked for having no love for God (201d) Denying Christ >> Jesus is an offense >> Truth offends error >> The word offends peoples’ sinful lifestyles -- Jesus was (and still is) the kind of person we either love or hate. Sadly, the Pharisees made their choice the first time they laid eyes on Him. Those of us who understand Him love Him, but those who don't love Him often don't see the side of Him that we do. We see Him as one who has felt the searing agony of the whip across His back, while the Pharisees saw Him as one who chased them down the courts of the temple with a whip. We see Him as one who continually challenges us to believe in God, while the Pharisees saw Him as one who rebuked them for their unbelief. We see Him as one who promises us eternal life, while the Pharisees saw Him as one who warned them of hell. So, it isn't surprising that the Pharisees think differently about Him than we do. It is their fault that they see their side of Jesus, since they plotted against Him behind His back. Essentially, if we are offended by Him and are unwilling to change our view or move out of His way, then we will get run over. The train engineer is not charged with murder for hitting someone; he has full rights to the tracks and everyone else is responsible for getting off the tracks when the train comes. We have a responsibility to get out of Jesus' way, but if you are offended at Him now, wait till He hits you with His judgment. Mk 11-17 (21m) Sin >> Greed tries to satisfy man’s need for security >> The love of money – Unfortunately, perhaps the most pervasive delusion in Christendom today is greedy people in the ministry for the sake of sordid gain. They can’t seem to stop building onto their churches and putting heavy loads on people’s backs. They get out their pet verses and quote them every week, using them more as missiles than blessings, as threats more than promises. The most abused verse in the Bible by money-grubbing pastors is Lk 6-38, “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure -pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” After being in the ministry for a while and amassing great fortunes, he receives a salary that is usually greater than many of his parishioner’s income. (80a) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word as a sword in spiritual warfare >> To oppose religion (141b) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Old Testament bears witness to the new >> It bears witness to Jesus >> Prophesy about Jesus’ ministry >> Jesus as head of the Church Mk 11-18 (142f) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Having a good reputation >> Jesus’ reputation (148e) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness to Jesus >> Evangelism >> Natural advantage of the public eye – This is a universal trick that Jesus and the first century apostles pulled on their enemies; they got notoriety from the public eye, and the people acted as a buffer against those who wanted to silence them. Before they had a crowd behind them neither did they have enemies, this being the case with Jesus at the onset of His ministry, but it was not so much the case with Paul. He would go to an unfamiliar place and preach the gospel and gain believers and establish churches in their area and go to the next town and do the same, but sometimes the people would not receive him. Unbelieving Jews followed him from town to town stirring up trouble, contradicting Paul in attempt to keep the people from believing in Jesus, so before he had advocates he had enemies. Nevertheless, everywhere Paul went he made disciples, but if that town or village did not receive him, his enemies the Jews would put it in the minds of the people to lay hands on Paul and incarcerate him or else afflict him with personal injury. See also: First century Church; Mk 11-23; 215e Mk 11-19 -- No Entries KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mk 11,20-24 (107b) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Jesus’ words create faith -- These verses go with verse 14 (147h) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> God uses His power to be destructive -- These verses go with verses 12-14. There have been countless New Age believers who have applied their positive thinking to promises like this. Perhaps having a stroke of timing and bit of luck manipulating the circumstances, they actually received something for which they prayed, and then they build whole religions around their experiences, and they don’t even believe in Jesus. This has actually happened many times in the past. God was not involved in giving them what they received. It sounds like we can ask God for anything and He will give it to us, but think of the mayhem it would cause if He did this for everyone who made request, especially after people discovered they had a candy man in heaven ready to dispense whatever their heart desired. Obviously there are conditions to His promises, and one of them is to forgive one another; and another is to ask God for things that are central to fulfilling His plan and purpose for our lives. See also: New Age: Having faith in your faith; Mk 11-23; 122b / Cults (New Age); Believing God is energy; Heb 11,1-3; 212b Mk 11-20,21 (27d) Sin >> Consequences of sin >> Knowledge can bring a curse if you don’t walk in it -- These verses go with verses 12-14 Mk 11,22-26 (172h) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> False doctrine among the truth Mk 11,22-24 (35e) Gift of God >> God is willing to Give >> Ask to receive – If we need to move a mountain, then we need God. The premise of this promise is that if we ask God for anything, He will give it to us. It is just that simple. We can ask really big things and He will do them for us. Some things are small but just as problematic as a mountain. In terms of missionary work, asking God for human souls even though there are governmental forces standing in the way that are big as mountains, yet God is able to remove them, and He is willing to remove every obstacle in the way of His gospel. Any time we ask God for a miracle for the sake of winning souls, we can be sure our prayers made it on His list of things to do, and when we get many praying on it, sometimes for many years, we can know for certain these things will come to pass. This builds confidence in God as though He answered our prayer the very next day, because that is how God sees it. Mk 11-22,23 (206g) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Conditions to promises >> Conditions to the gifts of God >> Conditions to the promises of God – Although this sounds like an open-ended promise, there are many conditions surrounding this statement. God is not a machine, nor is He a person who consists of principles; rather, He consists of faith, so even if the believer satisfied all the conditions of the promise, we still need the faith of God, not our own faith. Nobody can manifest this verse through human means; we need God’s faith to work on our behalf. In addition, Jesus didn’t give people what they wanted but what they needed, so another condition of the promise is to ask for things that are necessary. God promises to grant our heart’s desire, but it corresponds with a heart that is trained on Him. It might sound self-centered of God to give us only what He wants us to have, but God is more interested in helping us achieve His plan and purpose than He is in helping us with our own. The reason people’s lives are in ruins is they have rejected His purpose. So much of what we want leads to destruction and misery, and if God helped them achieve their goals, He would be responsible for their fettered lives, and He doesn’t want to be part of that. Mk 11-23,24 (70jb) Authority >> Believer’s authority >> We have been given authority over all creation >> We have authority over the elements (126j) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Patience >> The patience of God >> Have the patience of God – God has been alive forever, and so He has quite a wide perspective. Time means nothing to Him. There is nothing that says He will hurry up and grant our request. If we ask something from Him, He may give it, but in His time, not in ours. We could be waiting years for the fulfillment of a promise, and most people don’t have that kind of patience. God has certain ways of doing things; sometimes He uses people to answer prayer, and sometimes it takes God years to coordinate the circumstances that would answer our prayers. Therefore, using a mountain as an example was apropos. Mountains don’t just pack up and move at a moment’s notice. Mountains change very slowly; the only mountains that quickly change are those subject to earthquakes and volcanoes; otherwise erosion is the change agent through wind and rain. The fact that God used a mountain as an example suggests that this could take a while, but the mountain will eventually move by the hand of God. Waiting for millions of years for a mountain to change through erosion is not relevant, so even if it takes ten years to move or even twenty, it was the hand of God that moved it, otherwise it would still be there. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mk 11-23 (121g) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Hope >> Expecting good things based on God’s character >> Expectation based on His word – Some people claim to be highly spiritual, but God might answer them that since they are so spiritual, they won’t forsake the Lord if He doesn’t give them everything they want. God sometimes tests our faith by not answering our prayers to see if we are spiritually mature as we claim. If we are immature, He might not answer our prayers for that reason, and so there are many causes for not seeing God’s promises in action. We might ask God for something when we are teenagers and receive it when we are old. We are not in control of the way God answers prayer, but we are in control of our patience and willingness to wait for Him. We are in control of the condition of our heart, which is just as important as the other conditions to God’s promises. We are in control of our lifestyle and our willingness to love the brethren and get involved in God’s great commission to preach the gospel to every creature. If God sees us actively involved in His purposes, it will expedite His answer to our prayers, but if we are living however we want, demonstrating a lack of interest in the things of God, instead of answering our prayers, He might remind us that He wants us committed to righteousness and holiness of the truth. (122b) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Confidence in God through prayer -- There are those who say that faith itself moves mountains, as though it were not God moving them through our faith. These are new-age people who would try to tell us we don't need Christ anymore, since He didn't make Himself necessary in His own recipe for prayer. How can we believe strongly enough to move mountains without God? New-age people believe in their own faith. In verse 22, Jesus outlined the one condition to the prayer of faith we must meet before He will move mountains for us; we must have faith in God. He promised He would honor whatever we asked of Him so long as we didn't doubt in our heart. This kind of doubtless faith comes only from God, and if we can manifest what we received from Him, then He is willing to give us whatever we ask, because we have spent quality time in the word of God and prayer to develop a Godlike faith. See also: New Age: Having faith in your faith; Mk 11,20-24; 147h (215e) Sovereignty >> God controls time >> God’s timing >> God views time in eternity >> God sees eras as moments – Almost everything Jesus said pertained to two distinct eras in history: the first and second centuries and the end of the age. In the first century the gospel needed a good kick-off through the original apostles and disciples who followed into the second century, making sure it would survive a duel-millennial period. After that Catholicism got a foothold and dragged the world into the dark ages. As we near the second coming of Christ the spiritual realm will become active again, even more so than in the days of the early church if that were possible. In the last days, God will be interested in revealing Himself to the world in a great endtime revival, and the way to do that is to perform signs, wonders and miracles and get involved in people’s lives by answering their prayers. This builds confidence in God to accomplish His will. See also: See also: First century Church; Mk 11-18; 148e / Great Endtime Revival (Two periods: first century and last century); Lk 12,42-44; 246e Mk 11,24-26 (85la) Thy kingdom come >> Belief >> Treating the knowledge of God as fact >> Believing the Son by obeying the Father >> Obeying the law by faith in the cross >> Obey God for answered prayer – Love covers a multitude of sins. When we hear Jesus speaking in verse 24, we get all excited, because we have been taught that the gospel is a simple matter of believing; Jesus said so much almost verbatim. Believe and receive, this is what the Church has erroneously taught for years, probably starting at the beginning of televangelism shortly after TV was invented. Why shouldn’t we teach this; after all, this is what Jesus said, right? Not so fast, what did Jesus mean by the word “believe”? Merriam-Webster defines it as, “Considered [something] to be true or honest”. Looking in a Bible dictionary three words come to the fore: commitment, confidence and trust. Note that the Old Testament almost never used this word “believe”, meaning it is a new covenant concept. The Old Testament only said to obey. There were ten hard and fast commandments that were virtually impossible to misinterpret, and in order to fulfill them we must obey them; there is no way around it. Then the New Testament came along and introduced “belief” into our relationship with God. We must ask the question, then: is there a connection between obedience and belief? Jesus in no way threw away the Old Testament, so whenever Jesus used the word “believe”, we must view it in terms of obedience. What then does it mean when we say we believe something? The best definition of “belief” in any context imaginable, not just in the Bible but in all avenues of life, means we incorporate whatever we believe into our paradigm of reality, so that by definition we live by what we believe. The opposite is also true; if we don’t live by what we believe, it proves we don’t believe it. When Jesus told us to believe, He meant to live like we’ve received whatever we asked in prayer. Jesus then gave an example of what it means to believe in God. To believe that we have received is equivalent to believing in the character of God, thus integrating His character into our lives, and Jesus’ example was that we should forgive our enemies. Many people believe well enough that God will answer their prayers, but they don’t believe in the character of God. In contrast, Jesus is saying that we must believe in Him before we can receive from Him. If we don’t forgive, it is tantamount to unbelief, and unbelief is the premise of our sins. Mk 11-24 (99l) Thy kingdom come >> Perseverance (Working to keep in motion) >> Persevere in prayer Mk 11-25,26 (120e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Forgiving your brother >> Don’t forgive your brother and God won’t forgive you – We must behave like Jesus in order to get our prayers answered, who forgave his enemies through faith in Him. Jesus prayed and God answered His prayers, because He always prayed the will of His Father; that would be a good start in getting our prayers answered, asking Him to do for us things that He wants to do. Instead of praying for things we don’t need like newer cars and bigger houses, material things to make us feel better about ourselves and look better to other people, we should pray the will of God. This would incite Him to answer our prayers, but He won’t answer our prayers even if we are praying according to His will if we are not incorporating His character into our lives. If we live like Him and seek His will, God will answer our prayers; that was His promise. Mk 11,27-33 (62a) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Being clever >> Responding with wisdom to your enemies >> Outwit them -- Jesus cleverly outwitted the religious authorities of His day by relying on the defense of the multitude who followed Him. He asked the Pharisees a question in place of the question they posed to Him, a common Jewish practice. He didn't feel obligated to answer their question since they would not answer His, and were attempting to trap Him in a statement they would have used against Him in a future-planned kangaroo court. He asked then a skillfully crafted no-win question that by answering it would have incriminated themselves either way. Like a game of checkers, the religious authorities made their move; Jesus made His. When it was their turn again, no matter what they said, they would lose a checker; so instead, they chose to forfeit the game. (75f) Thy kingdom come >> Motives >> Being manipulative >> Questioning God’s authority – Jesus did not give the Pharisees an out. He asked them a question that no matter how they answered would condemn them. He held out no hope for these guys, asking them a question that revealed their hypocrisy and exposed their motives, and showed that God felt the same way about them as they did about Him. There was no helpful hand reaching out seeking their salvation. Most members of the religious elite in Israel were reprobates, beyond salvation, having destroyed their conscience and burned their bridges behind them. They were obstacles in the way of others seeking the Kingdom of God. Jesus never once tried to lead them to salvation or to faith in God, yet He disclosed to them many mysteries regarding His relationship with the Father, because they asked. He made some of the most profound statements in the Bible to them. In fact, much of how we have come to know about God is credited to the things He said to His enemies, things He never said to His disciples, because they didn’t ask. For example, He told His enemies that He was the great I Am (Jn 8-58). He also told them, “I and the Father are one” (Jn 10-30). He was never this forthright with His disciples. Jesus told the disciples that He was the “Son of God,” though it was Peter who actually said it and not Himself, but He was very pointed with His enemies. He revealed these things to increase their judgment, so they had heard the truth but did not believe it. The Pharisees and Scribes asked Him, “‘How long will you hold us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and you don’t believe’” (Jn 10-24,25). This indicates that He had been speaking with them earlier about Himself and told them plainly that he was the Son of God. Had the disciples asked, He would have told them too. Jesus was in the habit of answering people’s questions, regardless if they were His friends or His enemies, and this has not changed. If we ask Him a question, He will answer us, if we will listen for His answer. Had the Pharisees answered Jesus’ question and said something like, ‘We admit that John was a prophet and that we should have been baptized,’ things may have been different. In fact, they went to John for baptism, but John refused to baptize them, because they did not believe, telling them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Mat 3-7), being what John would say to anyone coming for baptism with wrong motives. Nevertheless, Jesus accused them of refusing John’s baptism. Technically they did not refuse baptism; instead, their heart was not right with God. John didn’t hold out any hope for these guys either that they would repent of their unbelief, whose heart was a cesspool of deception. (222g) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> God shares no intimacy with dogs >> God does not speak to dogs (241c) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Obstacles in the way of the kingdom >> Ask but don’t receive >> Asking with wrong motives -- This mental exercise forced Jesus' enemies to reveal the ugly fact that they were supposed to represent Israel before God, though they were not seeking His truth. When they reasoned among themselves, they did not discuss each other's ideas, but discussed their lack of options and the ramifications of either answer. Telling the truth was never suggested, being so far from their minds that no one even mentioned it in their huddle. _________________________________ MARK CHAPTER 12 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mk 12,1-12 (2h) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Do not touch the apple of His eye >> Do not harm His people – This is a parable about a man and his vineyard and the workers who worked the vineyard. Since they were doing the work, they calculated the vineyard belonged to them, and they despised the owner, holding him in contempt. According to the parable, the owner of the vineyard was God the Father, the vine growers were Israel, and the people they wounded and killed were Old Testament prophets; finally God sent His Son, and they killed Him too. Therefore, what will the owner of the vineyard do after Israel has committed this heinous crime against God? “He will destroy the vine growers and give the vineyard to others.” God gave management of His gospel to the gentiles, and the Jews were cut out of the deal because of their unbelief. The Jews were seeking to kill Jesus because of this parable that Jesus spoke to them; we would think they would try to prove Him wrong by not killing Him. They knew He was the Son of God, yet they sought to fulfill the very word that Jesus spoke against them, because they were of the devil, and he only knows to steal, kill and destroy. What possessed the Jews to think that if they killed Him they would somehow inherit His kingdom, which is a spiritual kingdom located in heaven, a place where they have no access without Him? “Come, let us kill Him and the inheritance will be ours.” This was the voice of sheer madness! They knew Jesus was the Son of God; they didn’t ignorantly kill Him, but killed Him in full knowledge of His identity. Even after He rose from the dead they were welcome to the gospel, still they did not repent of their unbelief or seek forgiveness, but hardened their hearts all the more and rejected the faith, until God had no choice but to give the stewardship of the gospel to the gentiles. (18h) Sin >> Twisted thinking >> Can’t distinguish between good and evil >> Jesus is evil -- Some people hide behind a facade they have made to represent their real self. It often takes the shape of respectful citizens in society, and under the pretence of their persuasive positions live in the shadows of their disguises, using their power to pull strings that would bend the world their way. So, the Pharisees hated Jesus the minute they laid eyes on Him, because He was the antithesis of themselves, who had been living their facade for so many generations they came to believe in their appearance. They understood they were opposite of Christ but never suspected they were evil, and so they assumed it of Him. They surmised they were God's chosen religious leaders, forgetting they were fakes and came to believe in their own smokescreens. This is twisted thinking, and is very common even in our own world. (25f) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Satan and his children are murderers (157k) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Having a murder spirit (169a) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world is blind to God >> Blind to the glory of God in Christ (184k) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Abusing the grace of God >> Dragging God’s Grace Through The Mud >> Dishonoring the grace of God (241j) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom to the death >> Kill Jesus because of what He said Mk 12,1-11 (225d) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Parables about wealth >> Parables about a land owner and his farm (242a) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Persecuting the kingdom to the death >> Killing God’s prophets Mk 12-6 (73e) Authority >> Respect Positions Of Authority >> Respect Jesus’ Authority (209k) Salvation >> The salvation of God >> Jesus is our sacrifice >> Jesus paid the price for us >> Father sent His son to the cross Mk 12,7-11 (199f) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Rejecting Christ >> Throwing God away >> Rejecting Christ to steal His glory -- This parable states that the Pharisees knew Jesus was the Son of God and calculated that if they killed Him they could steal His position with the Father. Their calculations were wrong. Jesus is suggesting a level of evil with His executioners that rivals the devil himself who also once tried to steal the position of God. The world is a scary place with men as evil as the devil himself, having bodies capable of manifesting Satan's will on the earth with their distorted judgments, where their reasoning skews from reality and their thoughts break from the harness to run free without restraint. Man working with the devil is capable of painting a tapestry that stretches from horizon to horizon, erasing the truth from our eyes, except from those wise enough to see through their vain imaginations. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mk 12-7,8 (17e) Sin >> Judging in the flesh >> Judgment based on greed (25j) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Thief >> Stealing from God Mk 12-7 (21k) Sin >> Premeditated murder (22a) Sin >> Greed tries to satisfy man’s need for security >> The deception of greed -- Man's primal need for security is really nothing more than a feeling, because there is no real security in a world apart from Christ. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, security is: Freedom from risk or danger, doubt, anxiety, or fear. Even if we eliminated risk and danger, how could we eliminate doubt, anxiety and fear, since they come from within; we would have to control our hearts. People no less pursue this phantom security to the farthest reach, amassing mountains of wealth or else spending it all on insurance policies. Security itself does not exist, except by faith in Jesus Christ. People think if their insurance policy reflects promise to pay in the event of a catastrophe, they will feel better about tomorrow, but the promises of men cannot be compared to the promises of God, for the only thing men can absolutely guarantee is that they will fail. Greed is the root of security and the very vehicle we use to pursue it. The Pharisees took their greed to the farthest extreme and tried to steal the position of God, the very thing Satan attempted, killing the Son of God and attempting to take His inheritance by force. Did they really think that if they killed Jesus, God would have no other recourse but to make them rulers of the universe in His place? This illustrates the height of the deception of greed! (25g) Sin >> Poverty (Forms of fear) >> Killing Jesus (56b) Paradox >> Lose by gaining >> Lose your place by seeking the first place -- The Jews lost their place to the gentiles by seeking the first place, which is none other than the throne of God itself. Mk 12,9-11 (49d) Judgment >> Those who are unfruitful in His kingdom are destroyed – No one can hold God ransom, being what the Jews tried to do. Their rebellion told God that He had to do something for them before they would do anything for Him, having forgotten all the kindness He had shown them over the millennia. He chose them through their father Abraham, and rescued them from bondage through Moses and called them to inherit a land filled with milk and honey, but the land was also filled with enemies that God wanted destroyed, because of idolatry, sorcery and witchcraft, sacrificing their children to the gods in hope of a better harvest, but before long Israel was doing the same things. In fact, the Old Testament says they behaved worse than the heathen. Israel’s rejection of God’s plan and purpose goes back centuries before Jesus came. Tell that to the Jews in Jesus’ day, and they would say they were in the center of God’s will when in fact they had abandoned it. How can people let themselves get so self-deceived? We look at them and sneer, but we should stand by our faith, for if it happened to them, it could happen to us? In fact, the words Jesus spoke against the Jews applies to the Church too. In the last days God will take away the ministry of grace and give it back to the Jews. The disobedience of the gentiles has descended to the level of the Jews in Jesus’ day, who refuse to obey Him. In the last days God will take the gospel from the gentiles and put it back in the hands of the Jews, and use them to manage a Great Endtime Revival, which the religious establishment of the gentiles will not accept. When we look at the horrors of the Jews and what happened to them over the last two millennia, the gentile church will succumb to a similar fate, only their suffering will be compacted into a short period. See also: Great Endtime Revival (Jews will manage the gospel at the end of the age); Lk 11,49-51; 194c Mk 12-9 (179j) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Unworthy servant >> Unworthy of eternal life -- The Pharisees proved themselves unworthy of eternal life in the eyes of God; we never want to be in this position. When the truth finally caught up with them it must have hit them like a ton of bricks. After we lose all hope of eternal life, what else is there? The Pharisees were like the walking dead; there are Pharisees living today who have no hope of eternal life, for they have destroyed their conscience to the point of believing their own lies. (211b) Salvation >> Jews and gentiles are being saved >> Gentiles included >> God gives the Gentiles Israel’s place – Jesus pointed this parable at Israel, who thought God had to use them since they were His chosen people. If we play games with God, we better have a care, because He can do whatever He wants. He may be bound to the covenants He makes, but if we test Him, He will pass over us and use someone else to do His will without breaking His covenant. Since they didn’t want the job of leading the world in things pertaining to God, He gave the job to the gentiles. The gospel is under a Jewish covenant that is managed by the gentiles, which means the Church for the last 2000 years has been under an adopted stewardship. Mk 12-10,11 (137c) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Jesus is the foundation of the Church >> Jesus is the cornerstone (157b) Witness >> Validity of the believer >> Evidence of being hell-bound >> Rejecting Christ – They understood that Jesus spoke this parable against them, yet they didn’t repent, proving that they had abandoned God’s purpose for themselves. As go the leaders, so go the people. It is what happened to Hitler’s Germany. People have a tendency to follow their leaders; this is why Jesus called us sheep. God will hold the sheep accountable for following the wrong shepherd, just as God held Israel accountable for following their leaders. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mk 12-10 (80a) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word as a sword in spiritual warfare >> To oppose religion -- This verse goes with verses 26&27 (141h) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Old Testament bears witness to the new >> It bears witness to Jesus >> Prophesy about Jesus’ life Mk 12,12-17 (62a) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Being clever >> Responding with wisdom to your enemies >> Outwit them Mk 12-12,13 (180e) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Wolves >> Be shrewd as wolves and more innocent than they appear >> Wolves are clever – They couldn’t arrest Jesus because the people would have objected, and so they sent spies to Him in order to trap Him in a statement, giving reason to arrest Him in the eyes of the people, but this ended in failure. Jesus was too shrewd; He would not fall for any of their traps. Jesus told them a parable about a vineyard, saying that the people conspired against the owner to kill His Son so that the inheritance would be theirs, and He ended the parable saying, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust” (Mat 21-43,44). The Pharisees realized that this parable was spoken against them. This depicts the mind of a reprobate: the Pharisees actually thought that somehow if they killed the Son of God, whatever He owned in heaven would become theirs. Maybe we think this is too incomprehensible to be true, but when we review Satan’s fall from heaven, he was thinking the very same thing: if he could kill Jesus, somehow it would give Him access to His throne. Satan and his demons have since been confined to the earth as disembodied spirits so they cannot manipulate the creation, and so how do they ever plan to gain God’s throne? Satan and his demons have one problem stacked against another, yet they never give up hope of becoming ruler of the universe. That has always been Satan’s goal. At best his hope is to regain what he lost at his fall after he sought the place of absolute power. These Pharisees who commune with demons knew that Jesus was the Son of God, and they developed Satan’s attitude and decided that killing Jesus would solve all their problems and achieve all their goals. Their thought process was so incredibly twisted it is actually unbelievable. See also: Reprobate (Man and demons think alike); 1Tim 1-13; 186c Mk 12,13-17 (22a) Sin >> Greed tries to satisfy man’s need for security >> The deception of greed (68k) Authority >> Discernment >> Judging truth and error >> Perceiving wicked plans – The Herodians were trying to trap Jesus in a statement, yet they believed He taught the way of God in truth. Jesus and John the Baptist followed parallel paths, but the Pharisees rejected God’s purpose for themselves in John and thus led perpendicular pathways that converged on Christ, crashing into each other like two cars at an intersection. How could they reject Christ, knowing He taught the ways of God in truth? Three things were involved: they would have to humble themselves, they would have to admit they participated in a religious system that held the people in bondage for the sake of sordid gain, and the most serious offense, they were in bondage to satanic forces of wickedness that blinded their eyes to the glory of Christ. These demonic forces seared their false wisdom into their minds as with a hot branding iron. (75m) Thy kingdom come >> Having ulterior (hidden) motives – The Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus into advising against paying taxes to Caesar, which would have been a one-way ticket to a cross; Jesus instead told the people to pay their taxes. Many of these taxes were heavy-handed and unreasonable, yet Jesus didn't mention this but told the people to submit to the injustices being done to them. He didn’t stop there, though; He also commanded the Pharisees to render “to God the things that are God's.” Most people would say this means to tithe, and maybe it does mean that, but Jesus was talking to the religious leaders of Israel who were hindering the Kingdom of God. In Lk 11-52 He said, “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.” He looked at them and said in effect that if they didn’t want to partake in God's coming kingdom, then to step aside and let those pass who did, and render to God the things that are God’s. (183j) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >> Truth i s the enemy of the spirit of error >> Spirit of error interrogates the truth (248i) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Valuing God >> Do not value things that devalue God Mk 12-17 (192d) Die to self >> Result of putting off the old man >> Gain by losing >> Receiving from God by substitution >> Wheeling and dealing in God’s spiritual economy (240i) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Taking away the key of knowledge >> Hindering people from entering the kingdom -- The contemporary interpretation of this verse is most commonly used to support the teaching of tithing, but Jesus was teaching something else. He was telling the Pharisees that they had an obligation stand out of the way of the children of God entering the kingdom of heaven as they pay their taxes. That is, Jesus was talking about two forms of currency when He blasted the Pharisees; there is the economy of money and the economy of souls. He was telling them that Caesar has a right to collect his money just as God has a right to collect His people. The problem was the Pharisees were standing in the way of the kingdom, standing in the way of Jesus, having effectively stolen the key of knowledge. The most applicable and most frequently used definition of the key of knowledge in the gospels is that mercy is greater than sacrifice. In contrast, the Pharisees taught that finding favor with God was a rigorous process that required great sacrifice, starting with our money. Those who teach that the way to God is through donating our money should instruct the people to give it to a charitable fund other than themselves, making their heretical claim more plausible, but it would also defeat the purpose of instituting such a false doctrine. KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mk 12,18-27 (79l) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word as a sword in spiritual warfare >> To defend yourself from religion (224g) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Description of heaven >> The joyful kingdom >> We will recognize our family members in heaven – Jesus' teachings opposed marriage in heaven, though He confirmed that we would recognize our family members in heaven. What the Sadducees proposed was not what they actually believed but was what Moses taught, that if a man died his brother should marry his wife and carry on the family name through her. The Sadducee’s question assumed that Jesus thought the afterlife would be a continuation of this life, but Jesus disagreed. We will recognize our friends and relatives in heaven, but the afterlife will take on a completely new direction from the life we lived in the flesh. This Sadducee suggested that once we get pass to the next life we would hunt down our wife and presumably keep having children with her. The Sadducees didn’t actually believe in an afterlife, and so he was really mocking Jesus’ teachings on the resurrection. We will not bear children in heaven, making us a finite people, but there is nothing about God that is finite or stagnant. God will make a new heaven and a new earth that He intended from all eternity that will continually grow. Isaiah 9-7 says, “There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore.” His government will continually increase to the rising number of people born to fill His creation. The Bible promises that we will not bear children, but God will create another Adam and Eve who will, commanding them to be fruitful and multiply throughout eternity. We are part of God’s government, and we will govern them, choosing from their numbers as leaders, and we will teach them the ways of God. See also: New heavens and a new earth (Our inheritance is infinite and eternal); Lk 9-28,29; 244c Mk 12-24 (79g) Know The Word (Key verse) (109j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Spirit of truth is our teacher -- The question of whether misinterpretation of Scripture comes from the absence of the Holy Spirit in a person's life, or if it comes from a lack of understanding of the Scriptures is like asking whether a glass of water is half empty or half full. If the Holy Spirit is not active in our lives, of course we will misinterpret Scripture. In the commentary above we talked about the key of knowledge; well, this is it. The Holy Spirit and the word of God belong together, but when they are separated in a person's life or in a religious institution or in a denomination, pure conjecture results, which never stumbles on the truth. (177a) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> False doctrine >> Distorting Scripture from a lack of understanding (182f) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Three causes of interpreting Scripture falsely >> Because they do not understand the Scriptures – The Pharisees didn’t understand how the Holy Spirit interacts with the word of God through the obedience of faith in a person's heart. When the Holy Spirit speaks a word in our heart, if we believe it and act upon it, God will produce the fruit of it that will work to establish the Kingdom of God in the world. When we are faithful in this way, we will be walking like Abraham, for this is how he lived. It is the call of every Christian to live like Abraham, who followed in the steps of Christ. It is the life of a Christian. Mk 12,25-27 (39b) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Characteristics of the resurrection – The reason the Sadducees didn’t believe in Jesus was that they doubted His teachings on the resurrection. The man testing Jesus did not believe in the resurrection from the dead, partly because there wasn’t much spoken about it in the Old Testament; nevertheless, Jesus incessantly spoke about the resurrection as a prophet and introduced new information to our faith. They had every reason to believe He was the Son of God, based on the signs and wonders He performed. They knew He spoke the truth, still they didn’t believe in Him (v14). He had the credentials of a prophet based on His miracles, but they chose not to believe in Him or the prophecies He spoke. Jesus went far beyond any of the prophets that Israel read in their Old Testament. The truth Jesus added to their ancient writings referred mostly to the life to come, having spoken about heaven and eternal life perhaps more than anything else, and He spoke about it in terms of this life affecting the quality of life in eternity. Mk 12-26,27 (80a) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word as a sword in spiritual warfare >> To oppose religion -- These verses go with verse 36 (89d) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Answers of wisdom (237l) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> The Church is transferred to the kingdom >> Transformed from death to life (239k) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the knowledge of the kingdom >> Teachers >> Let not many of you become teachers >> Dividing accurately the word of truth -- In verse 17 of this chapter Jesus alludes to the key of knowledge, then in verse 24 He defines it, and finally in verses 26 and 27 He gives an example of it. We see the key of knowledge in action, which is the Holy Spirit, as He transforms an Old Testament verse well known to the Pharisees into living truth, making a point that illumines our whole idea of heaven and the transition to the next life. Mk 12,28-34 (90e) Thy kingdom come >> Keeping the law >> Law is our tutor >> It leads us to God -- The law since it was handed down through Moses acted as a place holder until Christ should come. Therefore, all the generations before Christ were judged by the law to determine whether the people would have followed Christ given the opportunity, meaning that had they walked according to its precepts, the law would have prepared them to receive Christ when He came. The scribe who understood the law received encouragement from the Lord that he was not far from the Kingdom of God. Hence, there is no distinction between the ministry of the law and the ministry of the Spirit, for their goals are the same to teach man to love God. What makes the new covenant better than the old is that one is a catalogue of ordinances while the other is the actual person of God. Mk 12-28 (89e) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Wise questions >> Questions from and about Jesus -- This verse goes with verses 35-37 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mk 12-29 (255h) Trinity >> Father, Son and Holy Spirit >> Three in one >> There is only one God -- This verse goes with verse 32 Mk 12-30,31 (80d) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word to learn the ways of God >> Leading to the truth -- The ministry of the Holy Spirit creates habits in us, mindsets and a lifestyle, summarized by the first two commandments of the law, which are to love God and to love our fellow man. The rest of the law lists things we should avoid. The Holy Spirit does not use our conscience in the first two commandments; rather, He wants to use our heart to implement the law. His goal is to infuse our heart with love, making it the default response in every situation. Mk 12-30 (101d) Thy kingdom come >> Zeal does not count the cost >> Zeal of God has consumed me – Deuteronomy 6-4,5 summarizes the Law of Moses (found in Exodus chapter 20). It has zeal intrinsically written into it; that is, we must zealously love the Lord our God or we will fail to love Him at all. Anybody who is seeking favor with God through the law is anything but zealous for God. There are many people in the world today and throughout the age of grace who have trusted in the law for their salvation. This was Israel’s mistake; they too erroneously believed that walking according to God's Law would find favor with Him, but it is not possible. The law was never given for that purpose; what they so honored they did not obey; the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (Mat 26-41). All who claim to live by the law as a means of seeking favor with God oppose Him. Ironically, those who live and walk by the Spirit come closer to inadvertently fulfilling the law than legalists. To love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength means to keep the commandments. People can be zealous for their religion all they want, but God does not acknowledge any of their zeal if they are not living and walking by the Spirit, because their zeal is not for Him. All who seek favor with God through the flesh do it for social purposes, and their heartfelt zeal is for the world. Mk 12-32 (255h) Trinity >> Father, Son and Holy Spirit >> Three in one >> There is only one God -- This verse goes with verse 29 Mk 12-33,34 (173d) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Catholicism >> Scripture that contradicts the catholic faith >> Worshipping idols -- There are many people in the Catholic Church who love God, for that reason they should disavow the Catholic faith and go somewhere that teaches the true doctrines of Christianity. There are many doctrines of Catholicism that have no basis in the word of God. The doctrines of any religion that are not founded on the holy Scriptures are meant to exploit people. Jesus in these verses said of the scribe that He was not far from the Kingdom of God, but how far was the average Scribe who held teachings on sacrifice as a means of finding favor with God, such as the doctrine of pennants and the sacrifices of repetitious prayer and money required to deliver family members from purgatory, none of which are biblical? All religious offerings and sacrifices are made to a god, but a heart filled with love and compassion has the design of worshipping the God of heaven engraved into it. Mk 12,35-37 (89e) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom >> Wise questions >> Questions from and about Jesus -- These verses go with verse 28 (151e) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> New Testament bears witness of the Old >> The Patriarchs >> The Old Testament prophets -- These verses indicate that the scribes understood that the Messiah would come from the lineage of David, being by no means ignorant of the Scriptures; therefore, they had no excuse for miss-identifying Christ, especially since they were looking for Him. We would think His miracles would have clued their minds to consider this man to be the expected One, but they shunned the thought of it, knowing if Jesus got His way, He would have terminated their profiteering charade. That is, they sacrificed their hopes and dreams of their own Messiah for wealth and position. Jesus proved by the Scriptures that the Christ was the Son of God through one of the most commonly quoted verses of their time. How could the Christ be David's son and Lord at the same time? Jesus didn't explain to them that He was the son of man through His mother's virgin birth, and at the same time He was the Son of God, conceived by His heavenly Father. Mk 12-36 (48n) Judgment >> Jesus’ enemies are destroyed >> Enemies of His glory -- It is no coincidence that David wrote these words, and that Jesus quoted Him, and that David was a man of war, writing about the Messiah who in the end will subdue His enemies sitting on a throne in the likeness of David. Jesus was aiming this verse directly at the scribes who stood in His glorious presence and still could not recognize Him. That is a spiritual blindness beyond imagination to the point of being downright spooky. Jesus was toying with their minds, who studied the Old Testament their whole lives, and at the same time He sincerely wanted them to understand something important, that when they finally recognize their Messiah, He will no longer be telling them to repent, but to depart from Him into the black darkness of the abyss. They will have no one to blame but themselves. (80a) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word as a sword in spiritual warfare >> To oppose religion -- This verse goes with verse10 KJV WEB / Parallel Gospel / Navigation Bar Mk 12,38-40 (16j) Sin >> Continuing in sin to avoid the light >> Having hidden motives (169h) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Loving the approval of men rather than the approval of God >> Love to be noticed by men (175d) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Form of godliness >> Prestige gives a false sense of godliness -- Prestige doesn't really exist by itself, but is always accompanied by wealth, because nobody considers anyone to be prestigious without money. Prestige is honor given to someone based on their position in society. There are many rich people who do not strut their stuff, who simply have no desire for prestige and avoid being viewed by others as celebrities, proving that they are not automatically prestigious just because you have money. Therefore, prestige is something people must seek, and it is the seeking of prestige that is evil, because they cannot seek the glory of God at the same time. The aspect of prestige that is bewitching to society is that people somehow attribute godliness to those who sparkle in our eyes. The temptation is there to imply that because of their fame and fortune they must have God's favor too, but that is usually not the case. Jesus taught that the rich man has a harder time getting into heaven than the rest of us. (179b) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Jesus rebukes the Pharisees >> Rebuked for loving money Mk 12,41-44 (11g) Servant >> God’s standard is in proportion to our output – Some people have more possessions than others in this life, so they contribute what appears to be more, while others have much less, so what they contribute appears to be very little, but God doesn't see it that way. He compares our giving based on a percentage, so the less we have, the more we give with each dollar. If the rich gave as much as the widow’s mite, they would have to liquidate all their assets and give the proceeds to the treasury, but we know the rich won’t do that because they love money. Let’s say a person was born with a mental or physical disability and he became a child of the Kingdom, and because of his handicap he didn’t appear to be able to contribute much to the Church. The one with the physical handicap couldn’t help much with the folding chairs and the one with the mental handicap couldn’t help much intellectually, but what they can do means more to God than the things that others do who are endowed with all kinds of gifts and talents, but use most of what they have to benefit themselves in the world. (69ba) Authority >> Discernment >> Discerning the knowledge of God >> Discerning true motives (94b) Thy kingdom come >> Perspective on wealth in this life – There are three perspectives regarding this story: God’s perspective, the woman’s perspective and the treasury’s perspective. God’s perspective was that this woman contributed more than all the others; the woman’s perspective was that she gave everything she owned; and the treasury’s perspective was that her donation was negligible. God perceived that she made the biggest contribution, and that is how He intends to reward her, and He will judge the treasury based on their discrepancy regarding His perspective. In other words, the story of the widow’s mite represents God’s template for judging mankind. To the degree that we view our circumstances the way God does is the degree that He will reward us, and to the degree that we deviate from His perspective is the degree that He will judge us. (235b) Kingdom of God >> Pursuing the kingdom >> Invest in the kingdom >> Tithing >> Be faithful in your tithes >> Tithing is a true sign of faithfulness (249d) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> True perception of wealth >> Do not trust the carnal perception of wealth >> Do not try to hold on to your money Mk 12-43,44 (30e) Gift of God >> Prepare to receive from God >> We must first get His attention – It is possible since large sums of money were pouring into the treasury that when the treasurer reached the bottom of the bucket and saw those two copper coins, he threw them in the dirt, so that what little the widow contributed had no effect at all. Compare that with God’s perspective of her being the greatest contributor of all. Being the last of her money, God no doubt did something special for her, since it was obvious that her situation reached His attention. Is God aware of our circumstances? Jesus was aware of this woman, because he was standing next to the treasury, but what if He weren’t standing there? The only way He could have known about her deep poverty is if she told Him in prayer. We know that if God knows about our problems, He will make sure our needs are met. 1Jn 5-15 says, “And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” This means we must be diligent to remind God of our problems, not because He is forgetful, but so we know that He knows our problems. God knows everything, but He doesn’t solve every problem, but He does promise to answer prayer. See next page