Canonical Reading Plan for Oct 20, Mar 12-13

Today's readings are Mar 12-13.

In Mar 12:1-12, Jesus relates the parable of the Tenants to the Pharisees.  It is a blatant slap in the face to them. They know they are the evil tenants. They oppressed and rejected the prophets and are about to do the same to the Son of God. Even as the words of Jesus sound harsh, they are an act of mercy. They are true and accurate in every detail giving those who hear them an opportunity to repent before it’s too late. The chief priests, scribes and elders can never say they were not warned.

This is how Scripture should work in the life of a believer. Just as Jesus’s parables were a mirror for the leaders, Scripture is for us. We can read it and believe it’s not about us, as the priests, scribes and elders did. Or we can objectively use it to measure the state of our heart. The leaders failed at being objective and, as a result, they were condemned.

Jesus continues teaching on taxes, the resurrection, the great commandment and who He is (all in Mat 22). With each teaching, He humiliates the religious rulers and exposes them for the shallow, false teachers they are. We read much the same lesson in His warning about the scribes in Mar 12:38-40.

Finally, Jesus tells them in the incident with the widow and her mites (Mar 12:41-44) that it's not how much they give, it's the attitude of the heart that gives.  Compare the widow’s devotion and surrender to those who avoid the responsibility of caring for their aged parents by selfishly claiming Corban (Mar 7:11). Those who used the principle of Corban as a way of keeping their assets did not have hearts that surrendered all to the Lord. The widow gave all she had, placing herself in a position where she had to trust the Lord to sustain her.

We can easily fall victim to the same sentiment as those who hid behind Corban. If we tithe after we pay our bills and meet our obligations, in other words, give to God out of what is left over—if any at all—we are no less guilty than the religious leaders. The Old Testament practice of giving the first fruits and of sacrificing a blemish-free offering are lessons in how we should give. God should always be first and should receive our best, not our leftovers.

Mar 13 relates prophecies indicating trials for the church. The verses in Mar 13:14-20 are a graphic description of what will happen in Jerusalem in 70 AD. By most estimates, nearly a million Jews were brutally slaughtered, and the temple was destroyed. The Roman general Titus stood on the spot where the Holy of Holies was and sacrificed a pig. To the Jews who survived to witness this act, it was the "abomination of desolation." The abomination was the sacrifice of an unclean animal by a Gentile on the spot once dedicated to the ark of the covenant and the presence of God. The desolation was the ruined temple, the remains of which were pushed off the temple mount and were left lying in heaps of rubble surrounding the mount.

Large amounts of rubble from 70 AD remain at the base of the temple mount today.

The roadway at the base of the temple mount still shows the crushing impact of the stones of the temple as they were pushed off the mount above.

Mar 13:21 begins with "And then" indicating a prophecy of events that will follow the destruction of the temple. At some point after Jerusalem is raised, false Christs will arise, and people will begin flocking to them. We know they are false because Christ is in us, not in the next town or country. There will be false prophets as well. They will perform signs and wonders. This should make us cautious about how we view miracles.  While it is apparent that God can and does perform miracles at times, there are those who believe the Holy Spirit is present only when signs and wonders are, or that the absence of signs and wonders indicates the absence of the Holy Spirit. This passage tells us that the presence of miracles can also be a sign of false prophets and false Christs. Our familiarity with our God and our in-depth knowledge of His word will help us discern which is which.

Mar 13:32-37 brings it all into focus. Instead of being preoccupied with all the end time events, Christians are to be awake, alert and "...in charge, each with his work." We are to do what we are called to do -- be witnesses for the gospel. The prophecies concerning the end times are given to us to let us know that there is indeed an end and it will come quickly, "like a thief in the night." This should inspire us with some urgency to be bearers of the gospel.