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Showing posts from December, 2020

THIS Generation

Editor: David Maas
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In his ‘Olivet Discourse,’ Jesus provided his disciples with a chronological key – they would know the time of the demise of the Temple when they saw all “ these things ” coming to pass - Before “ this generation ” reached its inevitable end. That was his definitive answer to the question, “ When will THESE THINGS come to pass? ” Within one generation, Jerusalem and its Temple would be destroyed, and some of his followers would live to see it.
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Fruitless Temple

Editor: David Maas
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The  Gospel of Mark  divides the story of the barren fig tree into two sections and places the “cleansing” of the Temple between them. The two incidents are closely linked. The fruitlessness of the fig tree and its cursing highlighted the failure and fate of the Temple, and the actions of Jesus foreshadowed its destruction. After his arrival in the city of Jerusalem, he first visited the Temple and “ looked around on all things .”
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Knowing Times and Seasons

Editor: David Maas
Did Jesus command his followers to know end-time chronologies, the “ times and seasons ”? Must they decipher key “signs” and use them to calculate the time of his return so they may prepare in the nick of time for that day’s arrival? Did he and his apostles leave us with a comprehensive list of signs whereby we can decode God’s prophetic timetables?
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Abomination of Desolation

Editor: David Maas
According to Jesus, the “ Abomination of Desolation ” will appear in Jerusalem - It will be a local, not a global event. And his admonition for disciples to flee is applicable to Jerusalem and the immediate vicinity. Disciples must flee to the hills to escape the imminent calamity signaled by this abominable thing or person.
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Geographic Scope

Editor: David Maas
In his ‘Olivet Discourse,’ Jesus describes key events that will occur in the future, especially the destruction of the Temple and the “ coming of the Son of Man .” In doing so, he provides geographic details related to each event that alternate between the local and the universal, depending on which event he is under discussion.
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In the Temple

Editor: David Maas
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The ‘ Olivet Discourse ’ in the thirteenth chapter of  Mark  is the last recorded block of teachings by Jesus given shortly before his death on the Mount of Olives. It followed a series of confrontations in the Temple between him and the Pharisees and the priestly authorities, disputes that set the stage for his trial and execution. Thus, his “trial” effectively began in the Temple, and inevitably, it concluded with his unjust death on a Roman cross.
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The Desolate Temple

Editor: David Maas
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Before his final departure from the Temple, Jesus fielded challenges from the “ Scribes and Pharisees ,” confrontations that set the stage for his arrest and trial, as well as his execution by the Roman authorities. As he left the building, he pronounced its impending judgment and destruction. From start to finish, priests, Scribes, Herodians, Sadducees, and especially Pharisees resisted him, and some of the Temple authorities became complicit in the plot to put him to death.
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Triumphal Arrival

Editor: David Maas
At the end of his journey, his destination was the Temple in the center of the city.  The next several stories prepare the reader for his final days, A full third of Mark’s gospel account concerns the events of that week that culminate in his death and resurrection. All that preceded his arrival in the city was moving inexorably forward to his arrest, trial, and execution in the city of David and the prophets.
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Blind Bar-Timaeus Saved

Editor: David Maas
Jesus restored the sight of a blind beggar while he was “on the way” to his death in the city of Jerusalem  -  Mark 10:46-52 .  This is the last recorded healing miracle in Mark’s account. And here, Jesus is called the “ Nazarene .” Previously, he was only so identified when he exorcised demons, thereby delivering someone from demonic oppression. And in the  Gospel of Mark , the name “ Nazarene ” frames his first and last healing miracles.
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Questions on Divorce

Editor: David Maas
Opponents question Jesus about divorce to trap him, but he uses the issue to teach the higher ways of the Kingdom of God .  In Mark  and  Matthew , Jesus is confronted by opponents with questions about divorce. However, this is intended to trap him with his own words. They are not soliciting an all-encompassing ruling on divorce from him. In  Mark , the incident is another in a series of confrontations between Jesus and the religious establishment linked to the Temple.
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POPULAR POSTS

Construction De Barrières

Editor: David Maas
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Le retour à la juridiction de la Torah signifie la restauration des anciennes barrières sociales entre Juifs et Gentils . Le troisième chapitre des  Galates  est essentiel à l'argument de Paul pour l'unité du peuple de Dieu. Les anciennes divisions sociales sous la Législation Mosaïque sont inappropriées dans la Seule Communauté d'Alliance de Dieu depuis que “ la Postérité d'Abraham ” promise est arrivée, à savoir Jésus de Nazareth. Dans l'Assemblée du Christ, “ Il ne peut plus y avoir de Juif ou de Grec! ”
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The Faith of Jesus

Editor: David Maas
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We are not acquitted before God from the works of the Law but through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ – Romans 3:21-26. Having demonstrated that all men violate God’s revealed will, Paul concludes that no one is acquitted before God “ from the works of the Law .” Instead, we are justified “ through the faith ” or faithfulness of Jesus. We are reconciled with our Creator because of the gracious act of the Messiah for us. Since we deserve condemnation and death, all we can do is respond with repentance and faith to what God has done through the obedient death of His Son.
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