This was a meal for the ages! Reclining around the Passover table, Jesus identifies his betrayer as a close companion and initiates the greater meaning the Passover pointed to, with an even greater feast yet to come in the consummated Kingdom of God. The intricate liturgy of the Jewish Passover is so beautifully brought to completion with the story of redemption now finding its climax in the impending death of Jesus. We have every reason to give thanks!

With the cross clearly fixed in Jesus’ mind, and now only a few days away, Jesus and His disciples share a meal with friends in Bethany. This meal illustrates the only two real options for them when faced with the facts of Christ and His death on the cross – Beautiful Devotion or Disillusioned Betrayal. In this clear contrast, Mark asks us the very same question: What will your devotion to Christ look like?

King Jesus gave His disciples everything they needed to know to live with the end in mind. What He didn’t give them was a date and time. Rather, he exhorts them, and believers of all ages, to live with the characteristics of watchfulness built into their hearts and minds. Sleep can come upon us all, but life as a servant-disciple is a life of readiness.

In this, the longest discourse of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, He unpacks the events that are yet to come for the King and His Kingdom. The disciples had questions, and we have questions too. Though not every detail may be answered to their, or our, satisfaction, Jesus does clearly give us what we need to know. The King with return! But what will happen, and when will it happen? This week and next week our exposition answers those questions.

The Olivet Discourse (chapter 13 of Mark’s gospel) is sandwiched between Jesus’ controversies with the religious authorities in chapters 11-12 and the events surrounding his trial, crucifixion, death and resurrection in chapters 14-16. Chapter 13 focuses us on the end of redemptive history—it is all eschatological.
In fact, Jesus, tells us about a future time that he says is the worst time the world will ever know. It’s a time that will involve horrible evil, suffering, persecution, death, and judgement.

God’s purpose for the rebuilding of the temple was far greater than what the Jews could see. Their discouragement outweighed their hope in what good their labor could bring. God reminds His people to be strong and rest in His faithfulness and perfect plan that His people so desperately need.

We all need help along the way as we seek to follow Christ. Praise God that He has richly supplied all that we need for life and godliness. He has given us the Spirit of God to be our Helper, the Word of God to be our all-sufficient Authority, and the People of God to be our Faithful Friends in the journey together. There are many of God’s people that have gone before us, who now serve as faithful witnesses, cheering us on from ages past. We would be wise to learn from them, so we too might make patient progress in the faith … just as John Bunyan did before us.

Light burst through the darkness when Jesus was born! He came not merely as a good teacher or do-good-er. He came as a Savior to bring new life to dead men. He came to set captives free from sin. He came to bring a power to change and a love that transforms far greater than anything the world had ever known. He came to bring life that is truly life. There is no fullness of life without the miraculous birth, sacrificial death, and overcoming resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is what the apostle Paul prayed would permeate every fiber of every Christian’s thinking, asking, and living.