Mark 13-16 & Psalm 20

Mark 13-16

Mark 13-15 is the story-line that the movie the "Passion of the Christ" was based on.  It is the Thursday and Friday of what we call the Passion Week.  These are the last two days of Jesus' life on earth.  The basics of the story are simple to understand yet for teh Christian they can be very difficult to read.  Our sins were punished severely by Jesus.  He took the beatings, the ridicule, the abandonment, and the execution that our sins demanded.  Sin is always punished.  God turns away and "forsakes" the sin.  This is the basis of the Christian faith.  But we cannot forget Mark 16, for without the resurrection of Jesus, our faith in what Jesus said would be a lie.  In Mark's Gospel alone, we have read that Jesus has predicted these events three times already.  Each time, he will die but he notes that three days later, he will rise to new life.  Jesus fulfills these predictions!  Our faith in Jesus' promises are just as real today as they were then! 

There are some details that Mark leaves out in the last week of Jesus' life due to his condensing of the story.  We will be better able to add these details in other Gospel records.  Mark's goal (nor the goal of Matthew, Luke, or John) was not to be an all-inclusive account of the story.  Rather Mark is writing His Gospel to a non-Jewish audience who will appreciate the story and not necessarily the attention to Jewish details.  

As we have read through the Gospel of Mark, what stands out to you about the character of Jesus?  About His ministry?  About His life and death, and new life again?  Jesus performed many miracles and did many great things.  But His ultimate goal in doing all of these things was always to show people the way to the Kingdom of God.  Jesus is our only access to the Kingdom of God.  The Church is the Kingdom of God on earth-we will be the Kingdom of God in Heaven.  Our goal as Christians should always remain to point people to the Kingdom of God!  Everything else falls in comparison.  We are to, according to Mark 16:15-16, "Go into all the world and preach this Good News (which we have read this week) to everyone, everywhere." 

 

Psalm 20

A perfect Psalm in our current situation that our country is now facing.  David cries out to God in a prayer that puts full trust and faith in God-not in their own power.  This Psalm is a prayer leading up to Israel in war with the mighty Ammorite army.  David puts his trust in God who will see them to victory; not in their own strength and might.  In America today, our once strong and ever standing economy is very weak and vulnerable.  Our once unstoppable army is stretched thin amidst two wars.   Our once strong government is divided by political ideology.   Our once powerful dollar is now weaker than many in the world.  When our government cries out to us "Trust us.  We will see through by our resilience and our pride;" we would be better and wiser to put our trust in God instead.  When we pray to Him rather than our congressman; when we lay down our requests before God rather than trust in our vote; when we put our faith in God rather than in our military might; God will give us victory and will remain faithful to us.  Not faithful to keep us prosperous and rich; but, faithful to see to our eternal victory which should be our ultimate goal always!