Mark 14:1-2,17-21, “Crucified As It Is Written”

In the first two verses of Mark 14 we see that the narrative is resuming after Jesus’ lengthy response to His disciples’ wonder at the beauty of the temple area.  We also see, in those two verses, the fundamental truth of the entire story of the Incarnation.  The Lord is sovereign.  He is directing the entire matter.  The religions leaders, the powerful men of the nation, sought to kill Jesus but not during the feast, lest they cause a riot among the people.  The Lord intended to sacrifice His Son for the sins of the world, and He fully intended to do it during the feast. 

There is another truth woven throughout the stories of the Incarnation that demonstrates God’s plan being worked out.  Lest you have any unwise thought that Satan is in charge as we come to the sufferings and the cross of Christ, Jesus clearly states, “The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him” (14:21).  He said these words in the context of predicting His betrayal by Judas, one of the Twelve.  Every step of the way, even during the final days leading to the cross, the OT had anticipated, predicted, prophesied every one of Jesus’ steps.  And mind you, Jesus knew His Bible, even from His childhood (Luke 2:41-50).  While this was not an easy time for Jesus (14:33-34), we see Him committed to the path His Father had laid out for Him.  As Paul said of us, so the Father had a path of good works designed for His Son, that He should walk in them (Eph. 2:10).  He is our forerunner (Hb. 6:20), giving us One on whom we set our gaze, the “author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:1-2).

So, you might wonder, did the OT prophesy the actions of the “chief priests and scribes” who set out to kill Jesus?  Without question, YES! They are the wicked lawmakers who decree unrighteous decrees of Isa. 10:1-2.  They are the “workers of iniquity” referred to in the OT (e.g. Ps. 94:16).  They are the evil doers who shed innocent blood (Ps. 94:20-21).  In Ps. 22, the Psalm of the Suffering Savior, they are the “bulls” (v12) and “dogs” (v16) that surround Jesus. 

We have called attention to the Psalms of David and his frequent issues with enemies.  What we see is that David is not only speaking of himself as he cries to the LORD for help.  His words become the words of the Messiah.  Everyone sees it in places such as Ps. 22:1 (“My God, My God, why have You forsaken me”).  But the same can be said of any of the Psalms.  Take Ps. 35 for example.  It is not considered “Messianic” but is “imprecatory.”  David begins, Plead my cause, O LORD, with those who strive with me; Fight against those who fight against me.  Throughout the Psalm David pleads for help against those who unjustly attack him, who seek his life.  But as you read this, you can hear the same prayer from Jesus, the same entrusting of Himself to His Father who judges righteously (1 Pt. 2:23), the faithful Creator (4:19).  Both David and his great Son had these enemies and gave it to their God.

Matt. 25:1-13, Matthew’s Discourse Appendices

Before we leave Mark’s record of Jesus’ Olivet Discourse behind I consider it valuable to briefly acknowledge Matthew’s conclusion to the Discourse.  Matthew’s record is two lengthy chapters (Mt. 24-25), with Ch. 24 similar to Mark 13.  Ch. 25 adds two parables and one description of coming judgment.

·       The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, 25:1-13.  This parable expands Jesus’ teaching that no one knows when the end will come.  The virgins represent Israel, because they are the friends invited to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, the feast celebrating Christ and His Church/Bride, which occurs in conjunction with His return (cf. Rev. 19:7-10).  The application of this parable is watch, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming (24:13; cf. also Mk. 13:33).

·       The Parable of the Talents, 25:14-30.  Luke records a similar parable of Jesus in Luke 19:12-27, given after leaving the house of Zacchaeus on the final journey to Jerusalem.  It makes sense that Jesus might have told the parable then.  Jesus apparently accommodated the crowd of  “dispersion Jews” as He used Roman monetary units while in Matt. 25 He used Jewish units.  I have no reason to think that Jesus did not give the parable twice; it makes good sense in each location.  In Matthew’s location it expands on Jesus’ words in Mt. 24:45-51 and Mark 13:34-37.  The parable adds some information beyond the shorter passages, such as the idea of “commensurate reward” (the workers are rewarded according to their labor, 25:29).

·       The Judgment of the Nations, 25:31-46.  This is not a “parable” but an actual future event.  The key to interpretation is the recognition that there are not two but three groups present at this judgment.  As with all judgments, there must be two groups according to how they are judged.  There were wise and foolish virgins.  There were profitable and unprofitable servants.  Now there are sheep and goats.  But Jesus is very clear that these are “the nations” that have been brought before Him.  Israel is not being judged at this time.  He separates these people of the nations, one from the other, as sheep and goats.  The basis of judgment is questioned: “when” did we do the things that resulted in our judgment (25:37-39 and 44).  Jesus had said that the nations did these things to Him, but then specifies that when you “did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (v40,45).  The “brethren” are not the Church.  For one thing, the Church appears in heaven before Christ’s judgment seat, and the basis of judgment is there is their service for Christ (Rom. 14:10-12; 2 Cor. 5:10).  The OT reveals a “judgment of the nations” (especially Joel 3, but often in the Psalms, e.g. 96:13).  This judgment deals with how the nations treated the people of Israel in their time of tribulation.  As Israel suffered, did these people show compassion?  This is appropriate given God’s clear blessing pronounced on the nations that blessed Israel (Gen. 12:1-3).

Mark 13:32-37; Eph. 1:20-22, Jesus is Waiting

The conclusion of the Olivet Discourse (in Mark’s account) is a rather amazing statement from Jesus: no one knows the exact time when these things will take place, not even Jesus, the Son of God!  Only the Father knows.

We say this is amazing.  But it should not be difficult to accept.  At this very moment Jesus, the Son, is sitting at the right hand of the Father, waiting for the Father to make His enemies a footstool for His feet.  This was the Father’s instruction (Psalm 110:1) and the NT affirms that this is where Jesus is now (Heb. 10:12-13).  What we see in this are the distinctions that are evident in the Trinity.  It was the Father who promised the Son that His inheritance would involve ruling the nations (Ps. 2).  Thus, it is the Father who will tell the Son when it is time to return.

There is another matter we should clear up.  Eph. 1:22 and 1 Peter 3:22 seem to indicate that Jesus already has authority over His enemies.  That is true!  After Jesus’ death and resurrection He said that the Father had given Him all authority (Matt. 28:18).  Paul said the same: He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church.  Peter said, He is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.  But that is not the same as saying they are now His footstool.  Many Gentiles (people from the nations) are submitting themselves to Christ through faith in Him, but there is still plenty of rebellion in the nations.  There is an event still future, called “the supper of the great God,” described in Rev. 19:17-21, that will bring an end to rebellion.  After that event will be the Millennial Reign of Christ (Rev. 20:1-6).

Until then, Jesus calls all His followers to “watch and pray,” the same instructions He gave His disciples in Gethsemane (Mk. 14:38).  In the Garden the reason we need to watch and pray is that “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”  In this passage we watch and pray so that we are being faithful to our calling when He comes.  Both passages have to do with faithfulness.  We are being encouraged not to forget about or neglect our Lord.  We always want to have a mindset, if you will, that Christ is coming again.  This is our hope as we walk with Him in this sinful world, carrying out His plan of building His church through the making of disciples.

The NT frequently emphasizes this watchfulness.  We are to look at the things “not seen,” the eternal things (2 Cor. 4:16-18), setting our minds on the things above where Christ sits at the right hand and from which He will come (Col. 3:1-4), looking unto Jesus, our forerunner who has run the race before us (Heb. 12:1-2).

Mk. 13:24-31, The Final Lesson from the Fig Tree

We have noted that the Olivet Discourse shows us the love of God as well as the faithfulness of God.  The latter conclusion is one Jesus Himself picks up on as, for the fourth and last time, He brings His disciples, and us, back to the fig tree.

Let’s review.  In Luke 13:6-9 Jesus saw that the fig tree was struggling.  The keeper of the vineyard wanted to cut it down but the owner wanted to give it one more year with tender, loving care.  This was a picture of the Jewish people; Jesus wanted to give them one more year of His ministry.  In Part 2 (Mark 11:12-14), at the end of that year, Jesus sought fruit on a fig tree, but there was none, and He cursed the tree.  In Part 3 (Mark 11:20-24), the next day, His disciples saw that the tree had already withered.  Jesus used the opportunity to call His disciples to “have faith in God.”  He seemed to think that the tree was not hopeless.  To this point, the nation was now under a curse, but the disciples should trust God in the matter.

Now, at the conclusion of the Discourse about Israel’s coming tribulation and great tribulation, and the bringing together of all things when Christ returns, Jesus returns to the fig tree.  The essence of His message is, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”  Again, the tree is Israel.  A time will come when leaves will begin to appear on the fig tree that had once been cursed.  The tree will start to look like a living tree again.  Jesus said when they start seeing the ”signs” of His coming, then they will know that the restoration and salvation of the nation will be “near – at the doors.”  He emphasizes by saying that the generation that sees these things happening will not pass away until the end comes.

This promise is, as we said, based in the fact that Jesus said it.  In our previous post we considered several passages that promise God’s faithfulness to Israel.  Let me lead you through a few more, given by the Lord at critical times in Israel’s history.

·       Deut. 32:23-27,43: Just before Israel crossed the Jordan to enter the land the first time, Moses, at God’s direction, gave them a song by which God told them where they would be going as a nation.  They would eventually turn to idols and God would punish them and remove them from the land.  But He would eventually, for the sake of His name and glory, bring them back.

·       Amos 9:8: Before the Assyrians carried away the northern tribes, the LORD said that destruction was coming, “Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob.”

·       Jer. 30:7,11: After the Assyrians, and before the Babylonians came to destroy Jerusalem and take Judah captive, the LORD promised to save Israel out of all their trouble.  Again, He said, “Yet I will not make a complete end of you.”

·       Rom. 11:1,11,26-27: After the crucifixion of Israel’s rejected Messiah, God again said that He had not cast them away, but that “all Israel will be saved.”  He confirmed this be reminding them: “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”  As Jesus said, “My words will by no means pass away.”

Lam. 3:22-33, God’s Faithfulness to Abraham and Israel

The Olivet Discourse speaks highly of God’s love.  But Jesus’ words also remind us that God is faithful!  God is the One who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty (Rev. 1:8).  He is the same; His years do not end (Ps. 102:25ff, cf. Hb. 1:10ff).  With God there is no variation or shadow of turning (Jas. 1:17).  We could provide these Biblical pronouncements of God’s faithfulness all day long.  But take a look at these:

For I am the Lord, I do not change; Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob (Mal. 3:6).

Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day,
The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night,
Who disturbs the sea, And its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name):

³⁶ “If those ordinances depart From before Me, says the Lord,
Then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever.”

³⁷ Thus says the Lord: “If heaven above can be measured,
And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
I will also cast off all the seed of Israel
For all that they have done, says the Lord. (Jer. 31:35-37)

⁷ Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more?
⁸ Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore?
⁹ Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah (Ps. 77:7-9)

For the Lord will not cast off His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance. (Ps. 94:14)

³¹ For the LORD will not cast off forever.

 ³² Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. 

³³ For He does not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. (Lam. 3:31ff) Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.  For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.  (Rom. 11:28-29)

We could also go on all day with this repeated message in the Scriptures.  God’s faithfulness is illustrated in His keeping His covenant with Abraham.  Israel, in the latter days, will be a shining illustration that He keeps His word. 

We have turned our attention to this because this is the direction our Lord Jesus takes in the Olivet Discourse.  He has prophesied of great tribulation, “the time of Jacob’s trouble.”  The disciples to whom He is speaking are men of Israel.  Perhaps to them it sounds as if God’s patience has worn thin, and that He will cast off His people forever.  Jesus returns for the fourth and last time to “the Parable of the Fig Tree” to assure them and us that God will keep His word!

Psalm 89

Oh what a magnificent Psalm is this hymn exalting God for His mercies and faithfulness!  It gives such reassurance to the saint with application throughout for every moment of our lives.  It is lengthy but I plead with you, be not lazy!  Read it all.  Contemplate its truth.  Glory in the God at the center of it all!

Let us consider the movements in this Psalm.

·         The theme of the hymn is “the mercies of the Lord” and “His faithfulness to all generations (v1-2).  Mercy (Heb. chesed) and faithfulness (Heb. emunah) are prominent throughout.

·         The context of the hymn (the area where God’s mercy and faithfulness are highlighted) is God’s covenant with David in which God promised a throne forever (v3-4). 

·         Stanza 1 (v5-10): God is truly one of a kind.  None can compare to Him in heaven or on earth.  And what He is, He is constantly; His faithfulness also surrounds Him (v8).

·         Stanza 2 (v11-18): Israel is blessed to have such a God because He can do anything and everything He determines to do.  Israel’s shield (protection) and king are God’s provision.  How blessed!

·         Stanza 3 (v19-23): Nowhere is this blessing more evident than in God’s choice to establish and exalt His servant David as king. 

·         Stanza 4 (v24-29): The covenant God made with David promised an enduring throne, One to rule forever.  You cannot miss the obvious reference in this stanza to David’s greater Son, the Messiah.  He will be the Son of the heavenly Father (v26), the firstborn over all creation and over the new creation (v27), the King of kings and Lord of lords (v27).  David’s seed (descendants) will endure forever through the Messiah!

·         Stanza 5 (v30-37): Many stumble over the fact that many of the Davidic kings were so sinful.  They stumble in thinking that God would change His covenant with David and make it spiritual, not applying to his actual lineage.  But the mercies and faithfulness are quite evident here: God will not utterly take away His lovingkindness nor will He allow His faithfulness to fail (v33).  That is the clear answer!  It will be as established as the moon (v37), God’s faithful witness in the sky.

·         Stanza 6 (v38-45): Now we come to the issue.  Ethan the Ezrahite (cf. the title of the Psalm) writes in the context of the times of the Gentiles.  There is no Davidic king.  The nations have authority over God’s people and God’s land.  It is the nations that are exalted over David’s kingdom rather than David being exalted over the nations.

·         Stanza 7 (v46-51): Thus he asks the burning questions.  “How long?”  “Where are Your former lovingkindnesses?”  He asks questions of God.  But he does not question God!  To ask “how long” is to say, I know You will keep your word, but when?  To ask about former mercy is to acknowledge the reality of that mercy.  Behind this contemplation (again, cf. the title) is the constant struggle of the saints of the Old Testament to put together the suffering and glory of the Messiah (1 Peter 1:10-12).  The Davidic rule was to eventually move into the eternal reign of his greater Son (that’s Jesus, who will have the throne of His father David; who will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there will be no end, Luke 1:31-33).  But now, in Ethan’s time as in ours, there was no Davidic king on the throne of Israel!  The situation is reversed from what God promised.  He does not doubt God’s faithfulness or mercy; he has made that abundantly clear throughout the song.  But what he asks is, “how long?”  “The mercies are promised; so where are they?”

·         The song ends with a two-fold “Amen” affirming he does not doubt God.  The promise is forever; and the Lord is also blessed forevermore!  Ethan does not understand, but without question he believes in the sure mercies of David (Isa. 55:3; Acts 13:34). 

The application, as we have said, is moment by moment.  May God encourage you with this great Hymn.  Let us note:

1. God will establish the throne of David in the future.  Failure to do so is to deny Himself which He cannot do! (Psalm 2:6-9)

2. The sign of God’s faithfulness (the moon, God’s faithful witness in the sky, 89:37) is also called to testify to God’s faithfulness to keep the New Covenant (Jer. 31:35-36).  Let us trust our Lord who obtained eternal redemption, who promises an eternal inheritance and who lives forever to intercede on our behalf (Heb. 9:12,15; 7:25).

3. Every word of God is sure because He who said it is faithful.  Even our sin cannot keep Him from keeping His word because He is merciful and gracious.  As Ethan the Ezrahite rested on the promise that God made to David, so let us rest on every word of God!

We are writing this while in a part of the world (Ukraine) that keeps the "Eastern Calendar."  Today is Easter in Ukraine.  This Psalm about God's faithfulness and mercies is prime material when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ.   How merciful that God poured out His own life-blood for mankind.  And He will be faithful to give the gift of eternal life to all who believe because death could not hold our Lord.  The chains of death are broken.  He is alive!  "Blessed be the Lord forevermore!  Amen and Amen."

Rev. 14:1-7; Mark 13:10, God Still Loves the World

One conclusion we should arrive at in our study of the Olivet Discourse is that God loves the elect.  Eschatology is about the love of God.  Note Hebrews 9:

²⁷ And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, ²⁸ so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

It is true, that eschatology tells us how the judgment of God is fulfilled.  But the entire story is about Christ: the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10).  The salvation He provided through His first advent will get its full and final application in His second advent.  It will truly be a day full of “Hallelujahs!”

And, if you are wondering, in God’s prophetic plan we see that He also loves the world, with a John 3:16 love.  A major “timing” issue is that the end will not come until the gospel is preached to all the nations (Mk. 13:10).  God does not desire, nor does He rejoice in, the death of the wicked (Lam. 3:33; Ezek. 18:23; 2 Peter. 3:9).  In love He will make it a point for the gospel to be available to all!  Not only did Jesus say this.  Paul, by the Spirit, in the verse that precedes his prophecy that “all Israel will be saved,” said that the door to salvation for the nations would remain open “until the fullness of the Gentiles (Nations) has come in” (Rom. 11:25). 

Revelation 14:6-7 also speaks of this:

Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— ⁷ saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

The “everlasting gospel” is the good news of redemption in Christ.  That was the good news in the OT when Abraham, for example, believed God with respect to a  Son from his own body (Gen. 15:4-6) as well as in the NT where the good news is that the Son of Abraham has come and given His life as the ransom.  The angel preaches this gospel to every nation, tribe, tongue and people, urging them to glorify God by believing in His Son.  In my view, this angelic preaching is in some way tied to the 144,000 standing on Mt. Zion with the Lamb (14:1-6).  Perhaps, having been sealed early in the Tribulation Period (Rev. 7:1-8), they were protected by the Lord until the message reached all the nations.  That would be consistent with God, who “so loved the world,” the world that He created and has sustained throughout the ages.