[0:00] Mark chapter 12. We'll finish up the 12th chapter this morning.! Mark chapter 12. We'll start in verse 35.! As we stand together and we read the word of God found in the gospel according to Mark, the 12th chapter.
[0:38] Verse 35 says, And Jesus began to say as he taught in the temple, How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself said in the Holy Spirit, The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies beneath your feet.
[0:56] David himself calls him Lord. So in what sense is he his son? And the large crowd enjoyed listening to him. In his teaching he was saying, Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long groves and like respectful greetings in the marketplaces and the chief seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets who devour widows' houses and for parents' sake offer long prayers.
[1:20] These will receive greater condemnation. And he sat down opposite the treasury and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury. And many rich people were putting in large sums.
[1:32] And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins which amounted to a cent. And calling his disciples to him, He said to them, Truly I say to you, This poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury.
[1:45] For they all put in out of their surplus. But she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you for the opportunity we've had to gather together to worship you.
[1:59] To worship you in our learning and understanding of your word. To worship you in our singing and lifting up our voices. To worship you in the giving of our offerings. But now, Father, we pray that our worship be focused on you through the reading of your word.
[2:13] As we have heard it and seen it, Lord, may the truth of it captivate our attention. May it draw us closer to you. And Lord, in so doing, may it mold us and shape us and conform us to be more and more like you for your glory.
[2:28] And we ask it all in Christ's name. Amen. You may be seated. As Christ has been present in the temple, for the last couple of days of this Passion Week, if you remember, we're in that final week of Christ.
[2:43] On Triumphant Sunday, he had come in on that entrance on Palm Sunday where they had laid the palm branches down and they had declared, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And they had shouted, Hosanna in the highest.
[2:54] And they had done it because it was the fulfillment of the word of God found in the book of Zechariah. He had went into the temple. He had cleansed the temple. He had went back to Bethany. He came back to the temple. He was questioned in the temple.
[3:06] Daily he presents himself for inspection. Daily he presents himself for observation. And yet at the end of it, we will know that he is the spotless, blameless, faultless Lamb of God.
[3:17] He is a perfect sacrifice, ordained before the foundations of the world were laid to atone for the sin of mankind. We have just finished the passage where they have been questioning Christ.
[3:30] And he is not afraid of their questions. He's not afraid of their challenges. And we take great comfort in that, for he welcomes those. And he answers them with honesty and fullness and truthfulness.
[3:42] And he answers those questions to such an extent that they came with a hypocritical attitude seeking to cause him to stumble or to fall in some manner. And all of a sudden they found out that they could not catch him in the trap of verbal assault and they could not catch him by the standards of the law.
[3:59] So they quit questioning Jesus. And now the tables have turned, so to say. He who overturned the tables turned the tables because now he begins to question them.
[4:11] Jesus is teaching. And if you remember, when the questioning of Christ began, it's not recorded for us in the Gospel of Mark, but we find it in the other Gospel accounts, in Matthew and Luke, that when they began, the Pharisees and the scribes and the Sadducees came up to Christ.
[4:27] The reason they began to question him concerning his authority is because he was in the temple teaching. He wasn't in the temple blending in or trying to hide out. Rather, he was presenting himself in a very public fashion.
[4:40] This is why in the Garden of Gethsemane, when they come to arrest Christ, Jesus would say, Daily I was in the temple teaching, and you never arrested me. But they did it in the cover of darkness, for evil does not like light, and it has no fellowship with that other than darkness.
[4:58] But yet here Christ is teaching, and they interrupt his teaching, and they question him, and as he continues to teach, he begins to teach with questions. And we've looked at this reality before, that it is sometimes troubling to us, that when someone teaches us, they do not just emphatically tell us what it is we want to know, but rather they question us, and they answer our questions with a question, and it can be troubling, but it can also move us to think and to consider.
[5:24] And what we want to be is we want to be a thinking people. We are now in week seven of our eight essentials, and next week will be the final week where we look at, again, I will take this one on, and I will step up and say, what about Israel?
[5:36] We'll look at the nation of Israel. But we've encompassed a lot of things, and a lot of information has been thrown at you. And then we'll go back into our normal Sunday school hour routine for several months, and possibly by the end of the year, we'll take another six to eight weeks, and we'll look at major doctrines.
[5:51] And we've said all of this because by the end of the year, what we would desire and what we would long for is for every adult to be able to write out a doctrinal statement. This is what I believe.
[6:02] This morning, we were challenged about church music. I gave that one. I handed that one off to Brother Jamie. I've handed off prayer and discipleship to Brother Ivan on discipleship and prayer to Brother Mike.
[6:16] Those are difficult topics to look at, but they are things that you have to think through and things that you have to consider. And I wonder how long it's been since we've actually thought through why we sing what we sing, or what does it look like to be a disciple or disciple others, or what does my prayer life look like?
[6:32] And Christ is always challenging us to think. And it's appropriate when we get to this passage of Scripture. What seems like three different teachings really, I believe, are just one grand teaching.
[6:45] I have this tendency to think that Scripture tells but one grand narrative. It is not a tendency. It's a conviction. It tells but one great story. We don't have disjointed things being piecemealed together, but rather we're seeing the grand narrative of what God is teaching us, and he is teaching us very intentionally, because when he speaks, he speaks with authoritative power.
[7:08] And the things that are recorded by Mark, as he is moved by the Spirit of God, as the man of God, to write the Word of God, are intentionally ordered.
[7:18] So that is, the question that Jesus asked at the beginning of our passage is directly connected to the observation he has at the end of our passage.
[7:29] When he says, why do they say this about Jesus? It has bearing on the widow giving what amounts to one sixty-fourth of a day's wages. And so they're all connected.
[7:43] And hopefully we'll see a little bit of the connectivity here, because how we answer the question really dictates how we live our lives. So the first matter I want you to see is there is an appraisal that has to be made.
[7:58] There is an appraisal that has to be made, Jesus says, and Jesus began to say, as he taught in the temple. Now, this is not a question reserved for the Pharisees, the scribes, or the Sadducees, or even the Herodians.
[8:11] We've seen all of those there. But rather, if we go back to Matthew, we will see that he was in the temple teaching the multitudes and the crowds. More than likely, he is here in the court of the Gentiles.
[8:23] The court of the Gentiles, by the way, would have been the location where he overturned the money changer tables. It is the only place within the compound of the temple in which all people from all nations and all tongues and all tribes were welcomed to get near the presence of God.
[8:38] If you remember the construction of the tabernacle in the wilderness, some of you are reading through that right now in the book of Exodus. And this morning or today, later you'll read, you're in the book of Exodus about all these curtains and veils and the overlapping curtains and there's so many different curtains.
[8:52] And I was reading it this morning and I thought, man, that acacia wood must be stout. And you say, why? Because there were like four layers of curtains, right, on top of it. And that stuff must be stout.
[9:03] And it was overlaid in gold and it's the beauty and the ornatability of it. But there's this outer court that goes around it. And so if you look at that, as you were going into the temple or going into the tabernacle, there were the court of Gentiles in which all people, we could be in the court of Gentiles.
[9:20] We're welcome there, but that's as close as we could get. And then you would move into the court of the Jews or the Jewish women where the women could go with their husbands. And then you would go to a little bit further and you'd get to the court of the men where only the Jewish men were able to go.
[9:36] And then you would go into the holy place where only the priest could go. And then you would go into the holy of holies where only one man, one time a year could go. And I have to say this every time we mention it.
[9:46] And he would wear the robe that had the bells around the hem of the garment. And he would tie a rope around his ankle. And he would walk in with the blood into the holy of holies. And the reason he would do that is if the bells quit ringing, they knew he had died and they would use the rope to pull him out.
[10:03] And that's the veil that Christ torn when he died on the cross so that we can go into there with no bells and no rope and no blood and a bow. But we can go into the presence of the holy of holies and stand before Lord God Almighty.
[10:16] And nobody's got to pull the rope if we die because we are washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. And that's a completely different sermon, but it's a good place to say hallelujah because we get to run into his presence and we're there.
[10:27] But Jesus is out here in the court of the Gentiles when the multitudes of people around him and he asks the question. And the question is the appraisal that every person ought to make.
[10:39] He says, And Jesus began to say, how is it that the scribes, now the scribes, be careful with them, their daily occupation, it's kind of close to what I do in a daily business, was to sit down and to transcribe the word of God and to look at the word of God and to interpret to the Old Testament text.
[11:02] But they spent their time considering it. So therefore, many people were dependent upon them. And he says, these people, what is it that they say? How is it that the scribes say that Christ is the son of David?
[11:15] So really this question, here's the question. Who is this Christ? Now Christ is another word for Messiah. Who is the Messiah we've been waiting on?
[11:29] Who is the one that is the long anticipated, long expected one? How is it that they say he is the son of David? Well, we could go throughout the pages of scripture and I'm sure the scribes were in their mind quoting this verse and that verse and this verse and we could do the same.
[11:47] And we could see that he is according to the lineage of David that he would be the son of David, the seed of David, singular seed of David that would sit upon the throne forever. We would find it recorded in numerous passages throughout scripture.
[12:00] But Jesus is asking them to pause and to consider. And then he does what he has always done. He uses the word of God to validate the question and to challenge our normal response.
[12:14] Well, of course, he is the seed of David. For Isaiah says or this chapter says or this verse says and the promise given to David himself is that the seed of his would sit upon the throne forever.
[12:27] We could quote all these passages but Jesus wants us to appraise the fullness of it. He says, how does he say that he is the son of David?
[12:37] For David himself and he quotes from the book of Psalms and he brings his authoritative word back to David, the man after God's own heart. David himself said in the Holy Spirit so he is declaring to us here that it is the leading of the Holy Spirit that causes David to utter these words and later to write these words.
[12:59] Now, David is unique in your person study of the Old Testament. If we were to go through the people of the Old Testament and take our time to look at them, you will find a number of people that are moved by the Holy Spirit.
[13:11] You will find a number of people that are clothed by the Holy Spirit. The wording is that the Holy Spirit is put upon them and he is clothed. It's kind of like this jacket is upon me right now and I feel the weight of it especially since there's no air on in here.
[13:24] I feel the weight of it and it's there and I am clothed in this jacket. A little bit more sweat and I may be unclothed from the jacket but it is this reality that the Spirit was overcoming them.
[13:36] There's only one person in all of the Old Testament that he said he was filled with the Holy Spirit and that is David. That he is anointed from the moment of Samuel's anointing and he is clothed with the Holy Spirit from that day forward.
[13:56] Others moved by the Holy Spirit and the Spirit departs and others here and there but here David says by the Holy Spirit and look at what he says and I know what some of you are saying well if David was so clothed with the Holy Spirit from the day of his anointing why did he do all those bad things?
[14:10] What about the sin with Bathsheba? What about this? What about that? Well let me ask you a question. Let's go a little further. If you're filled with the Holy Spirit why do we do all the bad things? D.L. Moody used to have a good answer to that.
[14:24] He was preaching and he was saying we have to continuously be filled with the Holy Spirit and as he was preaching at the Chicago Tabernacle at that time which is now Moody Bible Church he was preaching and there was a lady he likes to describe as a lady on the front pew that had one of them Sunday go to meet and that said if you've been filled why do you still need to be filled up?
[14:43] And he said because lady I have holes. I leak and that's the reality right? In this flesh we have holes but what does the word of God say?
[14:55] Why does David himself say in the Holy Spirit the Lord look at this the Lord that is Yahweh the covenant name of God said to my Lord that is a different word and if you were to go back and read it in its original language that is Adonai that Yahweh says to Adonai I sit at my right hand until I put your enemies beneath your feet so if you were to go read the psalm in its original language and thank you for the error by the way you will see the reality that what he is declaring is that Yahweh covenant God declares to his Adonai that he would sit at his right feet so if he is David's son how is he David's Lord?
[15:38] And that's the question and what Jesus is asking is for people to reconsider who the Messiah is and you'll see why in just a moment is he simply the son of David who was set up on the throne of David forevermore or is he more than the son of David?
[16:04] Friend listen to me the appraisal that has to be made by each and every one of us is who is Christ? who is Christ? Is he the victorious warrior that will one day establish his throne upon the face of this earth and the rod of iron will never depart from his hand and he will rule forevermore?
[16:24] Or is he more than that? Is he the one to come and to set the captives free? To cause the lame to walk the blind to see the deaf to hear and the dead to be raised?
[16:36] or is he more than that? Christ asked the question who is the Messiah? What are you anticipating?
[16:48] Because how we answer that question dictates how we live the remainder of our life. And Jesus is going to begin to flesh that out for just a little bit because how this question is answered really changes the second matter he addresses.
[17:09] If Jesus is just the throne of David who would set upon the throne of David if we put ourselves in the context of the passage before us that the Jewish people were anticipating to liberate them from the Roman occupation and to establish his throne and once again rise up the Jewish dominance upon the nation and that he would be the earthly ruler and king who would reign forever and ever and be victorious then who you are in this world absolutely matters.
[17:41] But if he existed before David and he is David's Lord then maybe it's not only about this world so that leads us to the second reality and that is there is an appetite to be curbed.
[17:57] There is an appraisal to be made and there is an appetite to be curbed. Look at what he says and in his teaching he was saying beware of the scribes and it seems like he is picking on the scribes a lot but he is not.
[18:07] The scribes are being consistent in their viewpoint because in the scribal viewpoint Jesus the Christ was to be a descendant of David and establish his throne and it was about an earthly king coming to establish an earthly kingdom and so therefore if you want to position yourself for the coming Messiah who would establish an earthly kingdom you want to make sure you're somebody in that kingdom and if that kingdom is of this world then to be somebody in that kingdom is to be somebody in this world but if that kingdom is something other than this world then there's an appetite that we have to change.
[18:49] He says beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes and like respectful greetings in the marketplaces and the chief seats in the synagogue these people were all about exalted position.
[19:01] They wanted to be seen they wanted to be noticed they wanted to be evident they wanted everybody to know that they were somebody and I would say that that is a consistent living out of their viewpoint.
[19:15] They were looking for a Messiah who would establish a kingdom upon them and therefore they were positioning themselves to be someone in this earth.
[19:27] They wanted to be recognized. Now they were wrong but at least they were consistent. Listen if you're going to be wrong at least be consistently wrong and I say that kind of tongue in cheek but I say that with all sincerity as well.
[19:44] Don't pretend to be something you're not but if you're going to be right be consistently right. I read a statistic this morning one of the great drudgeries in our day and age is all these collegiate kids that are departing from the faith all of these realities even when I went to a pastor's meeting this week it was about the statistics that and they softened the statistics if we want it just to be true they softened the statistics and wanted to say it was something like 68% but if you remember Brother Ivan's report from Barna Group is more like 90% of the collegiate students that churches have that grow up in church and then when they go to college they leave the church and they never come back and so the question is how do we do that how do we change that discipleship is what we spoke of here but the reality that they were talking about in our pastor's meeting and I'm not to speak down to our pastor's meeting and it was I think with all good intentions but well we need to teach them why they believe what they believe we need to teach them doctrine that's good and it was taken by all this thing but the statistic that I read this morning is the majority of young adults are leaving the church not because of unanswered questions concerning the hard things the majority of young adults are leaving church because of the inconsistency in the lives they see of the believers it doesn't seem to make any difference in their life so why stay and it is the perceived inconsistency we have word for that here we call it discipleship right live out your faith alongside others and let them see the difference that Christ has made in their life and so
[21:31] Christ is saying here beware of those who like to exalt themselves and they want to make a name for themselves but they're just doing it for show they're doing it for pretense because look at what he says they devour widows houses but for a parent's sake they offer long prayers now I'm not a really good prayer I'll just be honest I really have to discipline myself for praying you say pastor that's unholy no that's called humanity that's what that is and I've met some people that are very eloquent in their prayers and can pray extensively and long and with a sincere heart but I don't ever want to be a person who prays long just so somebody can say oh that was a beautiful prayer for I have my reward right I would rather come in a few words with sincerity and truth and move the court of heaven than speak in all eloquence and love and flamboyance and move the opinion of man because who he is how we appraise the first question determines how we live at our secondary matters if he is coming to establish a throne on this earth then we better be somebody when he gets here but if he is of another realm and another kingdom and if he is a lord of lords and king of kings then who we are there matters more than who we are here it is a wonderful truth that we see it is an appetite to curb because the reality there is within the heart of each and every one of us by the way there is within the heart of each and every one of us a desire to be like the scribes we want respectful greetings we would like the prominent place it is within the heart of each and every one of us
[23:34] I know it is really not good grammar but we really love a lot of ourselves I love me some me just to be honest with you and I have a good feeling you probably love yourself too and that is okay until it gets in the way we have this problem it is this appetite for affirmation from others that must be curved because of the reality of who he is and that brings us to the third thing there is an appraisal there is an appetite number three there is an appropriate manner in which to live and now Jesus is sitting opposite the treasury box and look at this he is observing how they are putting their money in he is not observing how much he is observing how because the heart of the issue matters so much more than the amount he is observing the heart issue and we go back to the gospel of
[24:40] John before Nicodemus comes to Christ there is this wording here why Jesus answers Nicodemus the way he does and we find it at the end of the second chapter and into the third beginning of the third that Jesus did not need anyone to tell him about the heart of man for he understood the heart of every man and that is when Nicodemus comes to him with a question Jesus already knew what was in his heart for he knew the heart of every man and as he is observing how the individuals are putting into the treasury box he knows the heart of every man and woman and every individual who is there placing their money there he is not concerned about the amount but he is observing the how because this again is a matter of consistency and he sees this widow who puts in this 164th of a day's wages and he says she put in more than anyone else for they all out of their abundance and their surplus put in a little bit but she out of her poverty put in all she had all she had to live on he said they have to give everything to Christ well it is not a matter of legalism it is a matter of heart she so loved and so longed to worship in that manner that she gave it her all why because she knew that the Lord
[26:05] God was her provider she knew the consistency that he is greater than her obstacles before her it is the simple reality that she was surrendering her life completely and totally to the reality of the one she was coming to worship that she was laying it all on the altar literally and saying he is worthy and that begins when we answer the question who is Christ is he worth me laying everything on the altar is he worth me putting it all there everything that I have to live on everything that I have the hope for everything that every ambition that I have is he worth it all well if he is just a son of David coming to establish an earthly kingdom then no but if he is the Lord who sits at the right hand of the Lord then absolutely and until we answer the first question we can't get to the life that's appropriate and we come to this reality where we surrender ourselves to the truth of who he is and say
[27:16] Lord I'm going to put it all in the box if you leave some there for me to enjoy then I'll take it and enjoy it but if you take it all then I'll enjoy it just the same but I'll put it all in the box for you are worthy and you alone are worthy let's pray Father we thank you for this day we thank you for the opportunity we have together together Lord Jesus we know your word is challenging Lord that it moves us and it confronts us and I pray that as we are confronted by it that we would not pull back from that but rather we would press into you for you are the Lord who sits at the right hand of the throne on high until every enemy is put under your feet you are the highly exalted one the one that is worthy and so
[28:17] Lord may we be those who put it all in the box and say here it is do with it as you see fit and we ask it all in Christ's name amen let's Let's go.
[28:30] Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.
[28:41] Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.
[28:51] Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.