HisStory (Mark 1:1-13)

HisStory

Mark 1:1-13

Intro--You are a part of HisStory today. How? You are here to hear the culmination of HisStory. You are here to enter into the blessed implications of this culmination.

Read Mark 1:1-8

A.     It’s God’s history . . . it’s HisStory. He told it before hand through the prophets. He spoke of the redemption of peoples through his prophets from long before the part of the story that we read here in Mark and shows it’s culmination in what John the Baptizer himself speaks.

B.     It’s God’s self-revelation in the person of Jesus Christ.

C.    It’s God’s identification with man needing salvation.

HisStory is not mere words, tall tales, or theories--it’s grounded in the real events of a prophet preparing the way, the event of a real baptism, the event of real temptations.

I.  God’s HisStory

           

A. Why “HisStory” rather than merely “history.”

           

God planned the redemption of peoples from the beginning of HisStory. This Good News that culminates in the preparation of John the Baptizer and Jesus’ life is not just some kind of good news; it’s THE Good News as revealed by God historically through the prophets, experientially through the history of Israel, and now culminating in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus’ own baptism parallels Israel’s baptism into Moses in the Red Sea Crossing (1 Cor 2) and his triumph over 40 days in the wilderness and temptations parallels Israel’s 40 years in the wilderness. He had been revealing it for hundreds of years. Right here, Mark demonstrates historical continuity through John the Baptizer’s arrival with mention of three prophets and Jesus’ triumph where Israel had failed. Note the three connections to prophetic fulfillment with John the Baptizer:

1)  First through Malachi (in 3:1) who prophesied 600 years before John the Baptizer.

2)  Second through Isaiah (in 40:3) who prophesied 800 years before John the Baptizer.

3)  Elijah’s coming (in 2 Kings 1:8, Mal 4:5, 6).

So, you see, God said this prophet, John the Baptizer, would arrive. No surprises here, right? There were long years of teaching us the truth of what was to come through the voice of the prophets and the redemptive experiences of the Israel. It can’t be said that the event of Jesus’ arrival is accidental . . . coincidental . . . or circumstantial--it was planned. It is the beautiful culmination of HisStory.

B. John the Immerser’s Role

Israel had always had a messianic hope. What do I mean by “messianic hope” you ask. Messiah means “savior.” God had taught Israel to hope for a savior, somebody who would build a bridge for people to gain access to God’s presence. He also had taught them to teach the rest of the world this hope as well.

Israel’s consciousness or awareness of this hope ebbed and flowed throughout HisStory, but it was always present at some level, even if for relief from the oppression of foreign nations rather than spiritual. John’s role was to heighten consciousness of this hope. It was to get people ready to see it when it arrived and ready to respond to it when they were given opportunity. His job was to kind of go around and shake people by the shoulders and say, in not such a quiet voice, “After me comes he who is mightier than me, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have immersed you with water, but he will immerse you with the Holy Spirit!” He is fanning the messianic hope into a roaring flame.

Here’s how people respond to the “get ready” message: They are immersed in repentance. What does immersion mean? . . . it simply means to be consumed by it. What does repentance mean? . . . it means to have a change of mind . . . in this case, to agree with God, to agree with God about what is right and wrong and to do it. In The Gospel of Luke, John says it like this, if you have two shirts, share with somebody who doesn’t have one; if you have food, do the same; if your job is tax collecting, don’t rip people off, if your job is protecting the public  as a law officer, don’t use your position to exploit people. So, he is essentially saying “act in ways that accord with the Character of God.“

When we repent, we respond to the Good News and receive the benefit of the Good News. The benefit: he will immerse you in his own Spirit. Can you imagine that? . . . being immersed in God’s own Spirit . . . living in it so that it’s the atmosphere you live in? Yes; of course you can if you have submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It’s effects your decisions, your countenance, your purpose, your ability to live a life pleasing to God, your ability to become like Jesus . . . it changes everything. John was about clearing out the rubble and building anticipation to get people ready to respond to this miracle.

Are you ready? I’m going to tell you two startling things today.

II.  God Came to Men as a Man

Read Mark 1:9-11

A. How He came.

We know, especially according to what He tells us in John 4:24, that God is Spirit. Now we need to understand how God, who is Spirit, chooses to reveal himself to us. He has revealed Himself to us in creation . . . yes. We look around and see that HE IS. He reveals himself to us through the prophets like Malachi and Isaiah . . . yes. But He finally reveals Himself to us most fully in a life lived. Jesus is not another God. Jesus is not something other than God. Jesus is God. Jesus is God revealing Himself to you and me in the life lived. We learn this in Jesus’ baptism, we see that this is where God by His own Spirit dwells, in the person of Jesus, among us . . . to love us in a specific way that has eternal consequences.

Illustration: The best way to reveal yourself, your true intentions, and your motives to people is to become one of them . . . to enter into their situation. When I was in college I had a beta fish. I thought it would be cool to have a pet, but found it was really just a hassle. He lived in a little bowl with a hollowed out ceramic log in the bottom of it. Every time I approached the bowl to feed him his little piece of frozen shrimp fishy food, what do you think he did? Some types of fish race to the top to grab a bit. Not him. He swam to his log as fast as he could in fear. He misunderstood my intentions. He probably thought something like “big scary monster coming to get me” or something like that. Can fish brains think like that? Anyway, I could have become a fish for a day, maybe I could have finally explained my intentions. God became man for a time, and finally explained his intentions.

In the life of Jesus, God most fully reveals what He wants us to know of Him and, at the same time, what He plans for us to become . . . that is that we are to become like Jesus. What is Jesus like? The rest of the Gospel According to Mark tells this story.

B. What does He accomplish by revealing himself in this way?

1)  Tearing open the barrier

Here we see the genius of Mark at work.  This is the first place we see this genius that shows up in so many places in Mark. Note how the heavens are “torn” open. Mark uses a different Greek word here than does Matthew or Luke. Mark makes a front bookend so-to-speak. It matches the word that he, and the other gospel writers, uses at the end of the story (15:38).

[σκιζομένους (1:10) and ἐσχίσθη (15:38) are both forms of σχίζω.]

Here God is tearing open the heavens as if to demonstrate that he himself breaks through the barrier between men and God to come and to identify with man. Now God can be with men. [Spoiler Alert!] . . . At the end of the story, he tears through the temple veil—the same Greek word—that represented the barrier that kept men form coming into the presence of God. Now men can be with God. This is an ingenious method to make these profound theological statements.

2) The first of many beloved children

Here Jesus hears the voice of a father saying: “You are my beloved son, with you I am well pleased.” This is a summary of the Gospel I think. Every person who is immersed into the Spirit immediately lays claim to this same statement from God. “You are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased.” This is amazing is it not? Many of us need to hear this. As much as we long for this from our earthly fathers, only God is able to authenticate the conditions that truly please. I don’t expect to hear this from my earthly father. Why? Because my life is riddled with things that have displeased my earthly father. To be sure there have been pleasing things that he can speak to and affirm, but to say flatly that I am “well pleased” to the extent that there’s nothing about you that I find displeasing would be an unauthentic statement. However, this is patently the the kind of “well pleased” God is with us as we repent and are immersed in His Spirit. Two things authenticate this “well pleased” statement:

1)  First, in Jesus Christ, he authentically removes all things that displease. We’ll have to leave the greater explanation of that to the story that plays out in the rest of the Gospel of Mark.

2)  Second, though there be mistakes along the way, this is not a fiction, because, by His Spirit, he makes us able to live and progressively become like Jesus. In increasing measure, He transforms us into the likeness of Jesus who is the standard for God’s intentions for the genuine human experience.

I have heard this for myself: “You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased.” This is enough for me . . . it’s the good news I need today.

Is that true, did Stacy Abernathy hear this today? Yes; it’s true. I hear this every day and believe it, because God Himself creates the necessary conditions, authenticates the reality of it, and longs for me to believe it.

STOP for a moment here. Read this statement out loud, putting your own name in the blank:

_________, you are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased.

Have you heard it today? You have heard it, and it’s true if you are in Christ Jesus. This truth has been the most overwhelmingly profound realization in my own life.  

III.  God Identified With Man

A. What he accomplished in the temptations.

Illustration: One of my vocations over the past decade of my life has been to minister to the Lord’s church. A big part of my vocation, or job (if you will), is helping people in their life’s difficulties. More times than I can say, my offer for help has been rejected. Rejection often comes for reasons like these:

1)  You don’t really care; you’re just doing it because you’re a minister.

2)  You don’t understand, you haven’t experienced what I have.

3)  What you’re suggesting can’t be done.

Some of this is true. I haven’t experienced every difficulty that every other person has experienced. Thank you God. And all of those people haven’t experienced every difficulty that I have. Thank you God.

However, it seems to me that if I had experienced everything that every one of you has experienced, and had come out triumphant on the other side ahead of you, you all might just be more willing to listen to any advice that I might have. You might just be willing to follow my lead.

Read Mark 1:12-13

This portion of the story is about Jesus Identifying with each of us. By God’s choice he experienced difficulties, trials, and temptations like we do. He was hungry; he was tempted to grasp at power; he was tempted to strive after the affirmation of men. He was tempted and tested in every way yet was without sin. He experienced life and came through it triumphant. He has dissolved these excuses:

1)  You don’t really care . . . wanna bet . . .  But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9)

2)  You don’t really understand . . . wanna bet . . . For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:17, 18 ESV)

3)  What you are suggesting can’t be done . . . wanna bet . . . For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15 ESV)

As a pastor, a minister, I cannot identify with you in every trial. I have not preceded you triumphantly in everything. And, though I do authentically care, I cannot love you in the same measure that God has loved you through Jesus Christ. This I can assure you: God chose to identify with you in every necessary way, in every temptation, every need, every desire, every joy and every hurt. He knows. He understands. Not that he didn't know and understand before, oh but what lengths has gone to show you. Do not think that you cannot turn to Jesus and not be understood or helped.

B. Yes, you still have trials.

You might assess your situation and say, “okay, where is he now?” The angels did not stop the tests and temptations from happening; they did not completely drive the wild beasts from his presence  . . . they ministered to him in the midst of it. If you are in Christ today, I think he is saying this to you now, “my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased, I understand, I hurt with you, I rejoice with you, I am with you in the midst of your trial ministering to you.”

Close--Will you be written into HisStory?

Could you entrust your life . . . for all of eternity . . . to this Jesus who has humbled himself to identify with you in every way?

He will immerse you in his own Spirit to make you able you.

He has identified with you.

Will you now identify with him through your own repentance and baptism?

Kingdom Sight

What does kingdom life look like? Jesus begins in the story according to Mark saying:

     “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15 ESV)

What does the kingdom of God look like? That's a big question and it's proves to be hard to accept for a man who has grown up on the world with man's values.

The stories included in Mark 8:22-10:52 are bracked by stories of healing blind men. The first demonstrates that the disciples see kingdom realities only partially. The last demonstrates an appropriate desire to gain the Master's kingdom vision.

This diagram demonstrates what we're getting into:

The story according to Mark hits a pinnacle in chapter 8. After being taught and experiencing amazing things, Jesus brings his disciples to a point of crisis. In 8:31 he plainly says that his royal reign will be through abuse and death. The following verses reveal that the disciples still expect a reign typical of the rule of great men. They still see kingdom success like men typically see it.

After the rebuke, Jesus says something like," oh yeah, by the way, you will also have to bear a cross." Not what they had been expecting over the past few years. In fact, this is a real kick in the gut. The cross at this point represents nothing other than a publicly displayed execution. In this case, it's the execution of our own agendas. It's not a kingdom as I invent it . . . "look what I'm doing Jesus, come bless it." It's not a kingdom like men suppose . . . "look at how that politician is gaining favor among Christians, he must be God's sent." The kingdom is the reign of God over individual hearts and his orchestration of his agenda in total through those hearts.

    nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." (Luke 17:21 ESV)

We cannot move on to the rest of what resides in these brackets unto kingdom vision until we pick up our own cross . . . dieing to our own agenda and opinions regarding the kingdom.

TWO DECREES

My beautiful wife conscripted me to write a devotional for a children's camp that she's leading at Park Springs this weekend. I figure that since it's written I may as well share it on the blog. The theme of the week of camp comes from the book of Esther. Most disciples of Jesus are familiar with the very famous line from chapter 4 and verse 14 as delivered from Esther's cousin Mordecai to Esther herself: "And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" It's pretty difficult to stray from this theme, but I have bucked tradition. There's another important theme in this beautiful story.

This is the problem in the story: Haman convinced the king to give permission to the nations of the whole world to attack and kill the Jewish people. A decree (that means a written command of the king that could not be undone) was written and sent to all the nations under the king’s rule. Here’s what the decree said:

Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods (Esther 3:13 ESV).

This first decree encouraged all the people of the king’s empire to kill all the Jews and to steal their houses and other belongings. The decree was sent to all the nations from Ethiopia to India. That’s a huge area with 127 countries where many Jews lived. Look at the arrows on this map to see how far this decrees was sent:

The other important thing to know is that God said that the Jews deserved this decree because they turned away from Him and did many things to hurt Him. Long before it happened, God warned the Jews about this through Ezekiel, a Jewish prophet of God. This is what God told Ezekiel to tell the Jews:

Say this to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword, and whoever is in the open field I will give to the beasts to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves shall die by pestilence (Ezekiel 33:27 ESV).

You know that through Esther’s obedience and courage the Jew’s were saved from the this first decree. However, the decree was correct. The decree was sent. God said the decree was deserved and would happen. The decree was fixed and authoritative. So how were they saved? This is how they were saved: a second decree. The second decree gave permission to the Jewish people to defend themselves. And that is exactly what happened. Esther asked the king to write a second decree that was just as authoritative as the first which saved them. Here’s what it said:

. . . saying that the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force of any people or province that might attack them, children and women included, and to plunder their goods . . . (Esther 8:11-12 ESV).

God also told the Jews through Ezekiel long before it happened that this second decree would come. Here’s what God told Ezekiel to say:

They shall no more be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beasts of the land devour them. They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid (Ezekiel 34:28 ESV).

This is beautiful! The Jews were so deserving of punishment that a decree had to be made, but God loved the Jews so much that a more important decree was made to save them!

Do you know that our story with God is the same? We have done so many things that hurt God that a first decree had to be written. Here is what the first decree says:

. . . all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God . . . (Romans 3:23 ESV).

&

. . . the wages of sin is death . . . (Romans 6:23a ESV).

We don’t deserve a second decree, but God loved us s much that he wrote a more important decree:

. . . but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23b ESV).

Thank you God for your second decree, written in the blood of Christ and sealed by your Spirit to save me.

Measuring by Mercy

Have you ever looked at a homeless person, a drunkard, an addict, or two adults of the same gender holding hands, and thought something like, “their circumstances and their eternal situation are a result of their own choices?” Or, “if they would just make different choices, they would be able to escape that lifestyle?” It’s hard not to think what very well may be true. However, Jesus calls us to a different course of action than pursuing these kinds of thoughts.

“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful (Luke 6:36).

Mature disciples grow into thinking on these situations thus, “but for the mercy of God, there goes me. Ergo, I shall pour out mercy.” Even if God’s mercy did not go so far as to deliver me out of drunkenness or the like, it did deliver me out of something. Apart from this mercy I would be condemned. Those people need the same thing that I have.

The negative counterpart to this mercy is judgement.

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you  . . . (Luke 6:37, 38a).

As I indicated, our initial thoughts may very well be true, but there’s likely a whole lot more truth that we do not see: truth about sexual abuses during childhood, truth about lost jobs in a harsh economy, truth about mental illness, or truth about demonic influences. Judgments limited to what is seen inherently lack much.

This is the kind of mercy I received and the kind of mercy I strive to give:

“. . . good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:37b, 38 ESV).

In the Jewish society during Jesus’ ministry people commonly went to the open market to buy a short supply of grain to get the family by for a few days. Sometimes they pulled up the front of their clothing (the lap portion) into a fold to carry the grain back to the house. The best way to get a full measure was to put some grain in there, jump up and down a few times, shake side to side a few times, and fill it again until it began to spill out. This was the Good measure.

Lord, teach me to measure it out aright that I may know how to experience what you freely measure back. 

Moved by Compassion

Think of a time in your life when you have been most moved looking upon some dire situation. Maybe looking upon victims of war, poverty, natural disaster, disease, or famine. Or maybe it’s something a little closer to home. As a volunteer police chaplain, I often ride with officers. Every time I ride with an officer for the first time, I ask my first-time questions. One of those happens to be, “what’s the toughest thing you’ve ever had to deal with as an officer?” There’s a reoccurring theme amongst the officers. The theme that comes up most often is kids. Kids that get caught in the middle of their parents’ bad choices and are helpless to do anything about it. Maybe a child lives in unspeakable conditions because parents are controlled by drug addiction and everything that goes along with that. These kinds of situations move the officers, not just emotionally, but to thorough follow-up.

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:35-36 ESV).

Matthew uses these versus to summarize the content of Jesus’ ministry. As creator, he works hard toward righting things that are wrong. Preaching to bring people to the living God and healing disease and infirmity. He seems to be standing in a place where he has a bird’s-eye view of a crowd of people. He looks upon them and sees the harassed and helpless, sheep without a shepherd. 

These words are strong. The words here translated to harassed and helpless could be literally translated to flayed (i.e., to strip off the skin) and thrown down. This is what he sees. This is not the way he created things to be. There’s another strong word here: εσπλαγχνισθη. This word means to have a feeling evoked deep down within you...in the gut. This word is a passive verb, meaning that it’s the feeling that moved Jesus. In a sense, he was not the active one, the compassion was active, moving him along.


Throughout the first three Gospels, we find Jesus and Jesus-type parable characters moved by this compassion:

• Moved by compassion, when the crowds were hungry, he multiplied food and fed them.
• Moved by compassion, Jesus healed two blind men near Jericho.
• Moved by compassion, Jesus touched a leper to heal him.
• Moved by compassion, Jesus cast a demon out of a boy.
• Moved by compassion, Jesus raised the son of a widow at Nain.
• Moved by compassion, a Samaritan helped a wounded Jew along side the road.

After looking upon these sheep without a shepherd, sheep that he was ready to take into his own fold, he was moved by compassion. What does it move him to do? I suppose that it moved him to proclaim the good news some more and heal some more, but more immediately, it moved him to look at his disciples and say, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest (Matt 9:37,38). Another strong word here, εκβαλη, is translated “send”. This is the word used when speaking of casting out demons. Important enough to him, that he’s saying that he will send out forcefully, thrust them out. He asks us to pray, pray that he will thrust out many more good Samaritan’s into the harvest.

End Times in Matthew 24

You should probably read this passage and ask yourself the hard questions about what Jesus is saying before you bother with this post. Here's the passage: Matthew 24.

First understand that the disciples are asking two questions because Jesus foretold the destruction of the temple. Here are the questions:

1. When will these things happen?
2. What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?

The disciples were likely thinking that these things would happen together, i.e., Jesus would come back at the destruction of the temple. Not.

The Timing

In regard to the "this generation" statement (some people mistakenly think that Jesus was just wrong) in vs. 34, it helps me to know that the "take place" verb is translated from γενηται. This is an ingressive, aorist, state of being verb. That means that these happenings "begin" before the generation passes, not necessarily that they begin and end. So, this means that a complex of events which are bracketed by Jesus' ascension and his return only get set in motion. I do not recommend calling the things of this chapter into the service of constructing an elaborate and detailed end-times timeline.

The first event that happens as the beginning bracket is a transfer of power. It's a two-part event that the  Matthean plot has been building up to. The stage was firmly set when Jesus said that "this mountain would be removed" after the cleansing of the temple (Matt 21:21). "This mountain" was undoubtedly the temple mount.

The first part was Jesus' arrival at the throne (vs. 30).

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
(Matthew 24:30 ESV)

Though the eventual return of Christ is addressed in Matthew 24 (i.e., the parousia), vs. 30 does not refer to that. Jesus' return (Greek word παρουσια) is spoken of three times in this chapter, but vs. 30 is ερχομενον. That is to say, his coming to the throne. It's just like Matthew 26:64 when Jesus tells the chief priest that he will ascend to the throne. Look at how parallel this is:

Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
(Matthew 26:64 ESV)

 The second part happened on earth at the A.D. 70 destruction of the temple and the earlier ascension of Jesus to the right hand of the Father.

The shift in power from the temple to the Christ is also attested to in the apocalyptic language of vs. 29. Language like this was used in the Old Testament to speak of shifts in political power. See Isaiah 13:10 where the fall of Babylon is spoken of. See Amos 8:9 where the fall of Israel is spoken of.

So the answer to when is that it's a complex of events that begins at the ascension (which, though apparently removed nearly 40 years, is closely related to the destruction of the temple) and comes to completion at Jesus' return. This complex of events only began in that generation.

Nothing in this event is signaled by wars, famines and earthquakes (vs. 7). These are only birth pangs that will continue. So when people surmise that the end is here because there seem to be more earthquakes, they are right in the sense that the end has already begun, but they are wrong to think that they signal the imminent return of Jesus. That day will come upon us unexpectedly (vs. 36). Jesus' return is the second event; it brackets the end of these complex of events.

The Signs

It seems like tribulation, executions, and hatred for Christians will be a sign that we are in said time-bracket (vs. 9). It seems like the not-so-serious believers giving it up, betrayals happening, false prophets showing up,  and etc., will be signs that we are in said time-bracket (vss. 10, 11). These signs point to the truth that the complex of events have begun.

The abomination of desolation (vs. 15) seems to be placed at the beginning bracket. Jesus is making a play on a historical event. In 167 B.C. Antiochus Epiphanes (a Gentile king) entered the temple and sacrificed a pig. It took three years of guerilla warfare for the Jews to regain the temple. Jesus says this to give a sign that something like this will happen again. This time it will be the arrival of the Roman army at the temple; they destroyed the the temple in A.D. 70. Luke is a little more specific here (Luke 21:20). Jesus warned people to get out of town when the Romans showed up. Some people ran for the city walls. I don't recommend pulling this abomination out and forcing it into service on another timeline.

The great tribulation (vs. 21) seems also to be a part of the beginning bracket, along with the abomination of desolation and the ascension. Things got really bad inside of the city walls during siege. Starvation, torture (over food among Jews), and even cannibalism. Josephus gives a harrowing account of it. I don't recommend pulling this "great tribulation" out and forcing it into service on another timeline.

Don't be fooled by false christs (vs. 23) or false prophets (vs. 24), as if they might be a sign of the end's imminence. If you find yourself scratching your chin trying to figure out if this might be the Christ, he's not. When Jesus comes back there will be no chin scratching. It will be abundantly obvious. Like lightening that shines all the way from east to the west (vs. 27).

The Not-A-Rapture-Of-Believers

Jesus is coming back. This coming (the Greek word is παρουσια) is mentioned in vss. 27, 37, 39. It's going to be like the Noah thing. Specifically, when judgment comes at the arrival of Jesus, the ungodly will be destroyed and the righteous will remain. There is nothing in verses 40 and 41 that suggest that believers are taken away; they're not. The parables of Matthew 13 attests to the removal of everything that causes sin and all lawbreakers. They are gathered up and removed; the righteous remain; the meek inherit the earth. I do not recommend calling these verses into service to support a rapture of believers.

A Timeline?

A final thought on the propensity to use these things to build a timeline of events: these events should probably be viewed as a complex of events rather than a sequence of events. Many of the things we see here are probably typical conditions that show up in incidents and outbreaks, spurts and stops, throughout this time-bracket. We will continue to see tribulations, executions, false prophets, false christs and so forth until Jesus returns.

The Main Things

1. There was a shift in power . . . from the Temple to the Christ.
2. Jesus is coming back.
3. Be ready (the parables that follow tell us more about that).

Finances for a Disciple, Part 2

What we discussed this past Sunday from 1 Timothy 5 & 6:

1 Timothy 6:6 warns against using godliness as a means of gain. This is not just thinking to become a Bible  teacher merely for financial gain, it also exhorts us to "these duties"(6:2b), which are contrary to bad teaching, to avoid inappropriate means of financial gain.

• Only "real" widows should expect to be cared for financially by the church (5:3-16). A real widow has no family to turn to and is too old to bear children (i.e., in today's terms, to work a job).
• Don't neglect your family to enrich yourself (5:8).
• Christian workers should not think themselves entitled to special treatment because of their faith (6:1-12). Work hard so Christian employers will benefit. Work hard so non-Christian employers will see Christ in you. 

I'm sure people have thought up other ways to use godliness as a means of gain. To get your mind thinking along these lines, soas to avoid it of course, here's an example that I have run into. I used to work in the admissions department of a Bible college. Sometimes students tried to get into the college, not at all interested in the college's purpose and mission to train ministers of the Gospel,  but to get some of the institution's scholarship and receive a reduced price regionally accredited degree. It might be convenient and gain to play the godliness card to tap into benefit.

Appropriate gain is "godliness with contentment" (6:6).

• Everything we need is right here in creation. We didn't bring anything to it and we will not take anything out of it (6:7).
• We will be content if we have food and covering. These two words actually have a slightly more encompassing meaning than merely food and clothing. διατροφή = support and food; σκέπασμα = covering, clothing, and house (6:8).
• Don't pursue riches, pursue godliness and learn contentment (6:9, 10).
• If you happen to be rich, or kingdom pursuits make you rich, don't hope in wealth to take care of you and be very generous (6:17-19).