THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Mark: Jesus, The Perfect Servant Of God

Part III: The Perfect Sacrifice Of Jesus, The Perfect Servant Of God, Mark 11:1-15:47

K. Heeding God's Use Of Shocking Trials For A Righteous Alignment To Him

(Mark 13:1-2 et al.)

I. Introduction

A. Mark's Gospel was written by John Mark who was rebounding from having abandoned Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:13) due to Mark's lapse in following Christ because of some difficulty.

B. John Mark was clearly oriented to a worldly frame of mind to let the difficulty so affect his commitment to service, and the events of Mark 13:1-2 in the broad context shows God's use of shocking trials to get His people to align properly to Him and not to the world system (as follows):

II. Heeding God's Use Of Shocking Trials For A Righteous Alignment To Him, Mark 13:1-2 et al.

A. As Jesus was going out of the Herodian temple at Jerusalem, one of His disciples remarked, literally, "Teacher, behold what sort of (potapos, Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 701) stones and what sort of (potapos again, Ibid.) buildings!" that can be paraphrased to mean, "Behold, what great stones and what wonderful buildings!" (Ibid.; Mark 13:1)

B. From the human viewpoint, this disciple's exclamation was certainly fitting (as follows):

1. The Jerusalem temple of Jesus' day was still being built by "the Herodian dynasty," and "was considered an architectural wonder of the ancient world. It was built by large white stones, polished and generously decorated with gold . . . It covered about 1/6 of the land area of old Jerusalem" so that in the minds of the Jews, "nothing was as magnificent and formidable as their temple," Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 167.

2. This temple with its sanctuary of the Holy Place and the Holiest of Holies, was surrounded by courts, balconies, colonnades and porches, a breathtakingly awesome, moving structure in that era, Ibid.

C. However, Jesus' reply to this disciple's exclamation about such a magnificent temple that was still under construction greatly shocked them: in Mark 13:2, Jesus said, and we translate from the Greek text, "Do you see these great buildings? Certainly not (ou me, a double negative for emphasis, U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 178) in this place (hode, "this [one] [here],"Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 555) shall a stone be left (aphiemi, Ibid., U. B. S. Grk. N. T.; Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 125-126) upon a stone that will certainly not (ou me double negative again) be thrown down (kataluo, "thrown down, detached," Ibid., p. 415)." The twofold use of double negatives emphasized the certainty of the utter destruction of each of the building structures in the whole complex, including the holy place and the holiest of holies, what would devastate Jewish morale!

D. God would allow this devastation in judgment for Israel's sin (Deuteronomy 28:1-14), and the preceding context reveals such a shocking trial would be used of God both to judge and align Israel with God:

1. Back in Mark 12:35-37, Jesus had asked His listeners who had tried to corner Him with hard questions so as to discredit Him how David called the Messiah, his human son, David's Lord in Psalm 110:1. This was a clear attempt to get His critics to face the reality that the Old Testament taught He was God Incarnate. However, the religious leaders could not answer, showing their hardness of unbelief regarding Christ.

2. Accordingly, in Mark 12:38-40 Jesus had critiqued the false spirituality, pride and greed of Israel's religious leaders, what God would judge in the destruction of the temple site that occurred in A. D. 70 under Rome's rule, what destruction anticipates the coming Great Tribulation era, Ibid., B. K. C., N. T.

3. However, in Mark 12:41-44, Jesus had countered this critique of unrighteousness in Israel with the righteousness of the widow who gave of her last moneys to the Lord. The great trials she had faced in the loss of her husband coupled with ensuing poverty had purified her faith and love for the Lord, what God had desired but failed to find in the nation when Christ arrived! (cf. Mark 11:15-16)

4. Accordingly, the destruction of the temple and what it typifies in the coming Great Tribulation that Jesus later discussed in Mark 13:3-27 comprise the intense trials that will purge Israel of her sin and leave a godly remnant much like that godly widow who had been purified by personal trials, cf. Zechariah 13:8-9.

Lesson: Jesus' shocking prediction of the fall of Israel's temple foreshadowed the shocking trials Israel would face to purify her of sin and bring her to God as in the case of the suffering widow who gave of her last income to God.

Application: (1) May we repent and confess of our sins as believers before facing shocking trials of God's discipline. (2) If we face a shocking trial today, may we examine our hearts and adjust to God's will as needed!