Our times
There have been many interesting things happening around the world lately. Things that we, as a community, have been discussing and thinking about ever since the Christadelphians were founded as a movement in the mid-1840’s!
Hardly a day goes by without hearing of Russia becoming more warlike and pushing at Ukraine. As we know, the territory of Ukraine is identified by many with Magog in Ezekiel 38 and Revelation 20. During this spring and summer, we have seen Russia looming over the Ukraine, secretly aiding the insurgency. At the time of this writing (summer 2014), Russia has now been more open with their aid and small invasions. Other recent news from Russia Today recently reported “Moscow and Tehran (Iran) have signed far-reaching deals, from energy to consumer goods, which are expected to undermine Western-led sanctions against the two countries.” This is an interesting alignment, since we understand Iran occupies the land of former Persia. Ezek 38:5 mentions Persia in the countries that come against Israel at the time of the build up to Armageddon.
Meanwhile, America finds itself being dragged back into Iraq. America first said that the US would rescue the Yazidis before they are wiped out by ISIS (so-called Islamic State) genocide. However, on a larger picture, America and Europe are continuing to be increasingly worried at the barbaric ways of ISIS, who are be heading men, women, and children who either aren’t Muslim or Sunni. They are well funded, and their immediate goal is “…to bring Muslim-inhabited regions under their political control, beginning with the Territory of the Levant region, which includes Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Cyprus, and an area in southern Turkey…” (Wikipedia). ISIS currently is in control of the area of ancient Assyria, a brutal people who God used in the past in the judgment of Northern Israel in 2nd Kings. Again, Assyria is supposed to push against Israel in the latter days (Psalm 83). Also, newspapers (depending on which you read) either state that American is tiring of holding the role of the world police or America disagrees with Mr. Obama’s foreign policies. Either way, America is pulling back on involvement in other countries’ fights.
Finally, Israel has finished destroying Hamas’ tunnels under Gaza. This action may lead up to a time when Israel can dwell in “peace and safety”. I found this article in the NY Times interesting on August 12, 2014: “Role in Gaza Talks Signals a Comeback for Abbas” by Isabel Kershner. In it, she writes the following:
“Israel backs the idea of an internationally financed reconstruction package for Gaza funneled through Mr. Abbas, to enable supervision and bolster his influence and standing among the Palestinians. Israel also wants measures to prevent Hamas from rearming.
“Mr. Lapid’s [Yair Lapid, Israel’s Finance Minister and leader of the government’s second largest party, Yesh Atid] diplomatic initiative calls for an international conference, hosted by Egypt, to include the United States, Europe, Russia, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Israel and ‘moderate Arab states including Saudi Arabia,’ to work for the demilitarization of Gaza and the return of the Palestinian Authority there….”
Obviously very early days if there is a “peace process” that will happen between Israel and the surrounding Arab nations. But it is interesting that they continue to dialog about it.
In the time of Christ
Just as there are very many interesting things happening in the world now, which we think will mark the promised second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, there is also a lot of political events happening in and around Israel mentioned in the Gospels during the first coming of The Lord Jesus Christ. There was so much happening that when I started to look at where in the timeline to start this exhortation, I was forced to keep digging deeper into the background events! What we will look at this morning is that some Jews misapplied prophetic Scriptures and thought that Christ would set up His Father’s kingdom at that time. When Jesus did not fulfill their expectations, the Jews turned on Jesus. When we see these fantastic things happen, we must be encouraged that God is executing His plan, but we must not be discouraged if the time is not yet, and more importantly, we must not say “Where is the promise of His coming?”
The triumphal entry
Mark 11 and Mark 12 find us in the first part of the last week of Christ’s life. In Mark 11:1-11, we read of Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem. However, as we know by end of week, Jesus is put to death at the hands of the religious leaders of Israel. First, I always have a difficult time understanding exactly how this action of Jesus riding the donkey and the nation cheering, waiving palm branches, and shouting “Hosanna!” came about. The really amazing thing to me is that Christ knew the entire time that the nation would turn from this “religious fervor” to crucifying him in one week! He had already warned his disciples at least three times that he would be put to death in Mark 8:31-9:1; Mark 9:30-32; and Mark 10:32-39. In Mark 10, Christ said:
“See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise” (Mark 10:33-34 ESV). .
Christ knew! He knew what he would have to endure. When no one else around him — his disciples, his friends, did not understand the situation at all. How lonely! He knew that this would all transpire, for this was his last week in Jerusalem. The parallel account in Luke records:
“But they [the disciples] understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said” (Luke 18:34)
It difficult for me to understand how Christ knew what was to happen yet was ready to be lead like a lamb to the slaughter.
How and why did this triumphant entry into Jerusalem happen? What was the mood and the scene in Israel at the time? John tells us:
“Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead” (John 12:1)
Many Jews would have been coming to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover at Jerusalem. Bethany was about 2 miles to the east of Jerusalem. It is just south of Beth page, where the donkey and colt were found. John tells us that large crowds came to Bethany, not only to see Jesus, but to see Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead:
“When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus” (John 12:9-11).
The raising of Lazarus from the dead was so spectacular that the news had spread afar. The people wanted proof to see that a man was raised from the dead, and would have easily walked the two extra miles to meet Lazarus. This so incensed the chief priests, that “they made plans to kill Lazarus as well” because they feared losing their religious power over the people!
It always seemed strange to me that some of Israel came to Jerusalem, and took branches of palm trees and cried out “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of The Lord, even the King of Israel”. This fulfilled the prophecies of Zech 9:9 and Psalm 118. This is where John’s gospel really shines, so let us look at John 12:12-19. Here we read that the disciples didn’t really understand anything that was happening until they reflected on the situation after his death, resurrection, and ascension. The record also bears out that the crowd in Jerusalem is the same crowd that had gone to see Lazarus. And finally, at least the Pharisees (though probably not the only group) realized that they were losing power to Christ.
“The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, ‘Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!’” (John 12:12-15).
His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him” (John 12:19).
Additionally, the Jews wanting to be freed from the control of Herodian family and the Romans. I believe that they got caught up in nationalistic pride, and religious fervor, for “Hosanna” means “Oh Save!” and the Jews thought that Christ was there to set up the Kingdom of God, often quoting concerning the Kingdom of God:
“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success!” (Psa 118:24-25).
These were the verses being quoted as Jesus rode into the city on the donkey. In the end, when Jesus wouldn’t deliver his Kingdom at that time, then the disappointed crowds were easily turned against Jesus.
It’s interesting how the Jews of the day, knew their Bible; they were actively looking for a Messiah, who was to save them. The Jews applied their understanding of the prophecies, and looked for things in their day, but when the prophecies weren’t fulfilled, or at least fulfilled according to their expectations, they were then easily swayed against our Lord Jesus Christ.
The leaders of Israel
In Mark 11 and 12, Jesus focused his message on the corrupt leaders of Israel. He did not condemn Herod or the Romans, as the Jewish people would have expected him to do, rather he condemned the religious leaders: the Chief Priests, the Scribes, the Pharisees, the Herodians, and the Sadducces. Between Mark 11:12-14 and Mark 11:20-25, we see the interesting juxtaposition of
- Jesus condemning a fig tree, because it leafed (matured), but there was no fruit;
- Jesus driving out the money exchanges in the Temple;
- Peter commenting to Christ that the fig tree had withered.
The Scripture makes a point of saying that it wasn’t the proper time for fruit, but the fact was that the tree had made the goodly appearance, as had the nation of Israel, but bore no fruit. The nation of Israel was keeping the feasts, was taking offerings to the temple, but these acts had become mere rituals. Certainly some were profiteering off of these rituals, yet they bore no fruit and therefore, would have been worthless to the owner of the fig tree. We also can see this happening today, we can look like we are righteous, i.e. attending our ecclesia, yet bearing no fruit, such as we are supposed to produce: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Gal 5:22-23).
Now, if we turn over to Mark 12:1 we have the “Parable of the Tenants”, in which we find another condemnation of the religious leadership of Israel in the format of a parable. The vineyard would have been an easy reference for the Jews to understand from Isaiah 5. In fact, the entire parable was lifted out of Isaiah 5.
Considering this parable: the vineyard was the land of Israel to be inhabited by vines, or the nation of Israel. Therefore, those whose responsibility to take care of the vines, the tenants, would be the religious leaders. The Hebrew word used for grapes in Isaiah 5 is actually two different words. The grapes that The Lord sought would be good for making wine. Nice, sweet, fermented vintage wine. However, the wild grapes is from a word that is also translated “stinking or worthless things; stinkberries”! It is very interesting how some religious leaders, from the early days of Judaism, through Christ’s day, through today, consistently struggle with seeking power.
The last chapter of Chronicles records the demise of the first kingdom:
“All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the Lord that He had made holy in Jerusalem” (2 Chron 36:14).
Neh 9:26, Acts 7:52, and Heb 11:36-37 are three more passages that are relevant. And of course, those contained in documentaries such as “The Protesters” and “Fox’s Book of Martyrs” talk about those who have tried to bring about religious reform. If we view ourselves as the vine, then we must make sure that we first bring forth good fruit. If we view ourselves as the vinedressers, then we must be sure to promote the growth of good fruit.
Returning to Mark 12, Christ has interjected himself into the story. The owner of the vineyard, sent his beloved son, but they killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
“But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others” (Mark 12:7-9).
This is what God has done: Given the land of Israel to others, until Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948. Of course the next phrase has become one of the cornerstones of our faith, when we remember the emblems on a Sunday morning:
“Have you not read this Scripture: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” (Mark 12:10-11).
Our Lord quotes this verse from Psalms 118. We have already mentioned that Psalm. That was the Psalm that the people were quoting while they waved their palm branches. Now, Christ does apply this Psalm to himself, but just not in the timeframe the people wanted. Christ is the cornerstone of our belief in a future Kingdom on earth, with Christ as the King.
Conclusion
What are the key ideas that I’d like the reader to remember from this exhortation?We need to completely understand Scriptures at many levels. The stories are rich with details that tell of people, situations, plots, and riots that could rival any political story that we find in our newspapers today. However, when the main character is The Lord Jesus Christ, then there are always lessons to be learned for us in virtually every word.
We need to apply the Scriptures to our lives today. We need to understand God’s plan for the earth and understand our role in His plan. From time to time, we might get the details wrong, but we need to then go back to the Scriptures a read more carefully. Reminding ourselves of the words of Peter:
“that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation’ ” (2 Peter 3:3-4).
Finally we need to develop the fruits of the spirit as we see the day of our Lord approaching. “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,” (Gal 5:22).
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