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Mark 15

“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”  Those were the last words of Jesus. At that moment, he was alone.  He could feel it in his soul.  It was empty and hollow.  The pain was too much to bear.  The physical torture had taken its toll, not to mention the mental anguish.  Just yesterday, his best friends betrayed him.  Not only did they hand him over, but they also denied knowing him.  Even the political system didn’t go in his favor.  Pilate took the simple and self-serving route.  He could have set him free.  He didn’t.  No help.  No people, no angels, no God.

Maybe you have been there?  The circumstances of life have stacked against you and they just keep coming.  Perhaps your friends have betrayed you, just like Jesus.  Maybe it’s illness or financial pressure that keeps you from living a joy-filled life.  It could be death.  For many, it’s more than one at the same time.   That is when we cry, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

Do those words signal the end of our faith?  Are they the suggestion that we have found such ongoing despair that we no longer believe God is good?  Maybe not.  According to John Calvin, these are words of strong faith.  It is only the faithful, in fact, that are able to question God in this manner.  It stems from the foundation of promises that God made to us.  We cry out because we know them to be true.  We want them to be true, we need them to be true.  They are true.

Today, we know that Jesus’ death was temporary (1 Corinthians 15:4).  We know that He now sits at the right hand of God (acts 7:55).  Because of this, we also know that God’s delay was temporary.  It was perfect.  Just enough that Christ would facilitate our redemption.  Today, it is this redemption that we build our lives upon.  While it may not relieve us from the troubles of this world, it does assure that we can have peace, hope, and love, today, forever, and always.

Last month, I wrote about Matthew 27, the capture, conviction, and crucifixion of Jesus.  The book of Matthew was written by one of Jesus’ closest confidants and a disciple who followed Jesus during His teachings and witnessed the events of Jesus’ life.

Today, I write about Mark 14.  Mark, also called John Mark, was an early evangelist of the church with Paul.  He is known to have traveled with Paul and Barnabas to spread the Gospel after Jesus’ death and resurrection

Mark 14 outlines the plot to kill Jesus and the final days He spent with His disciples before His capture.  What weights heavy on my heart about this chapter is the betrayal Jesus knew would happen from His closest confidants and yet He still forgave them.

Jesus spoke on Mark 14:18 “assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me with betray Me.”  During the Passover meal, Jesus knew that Judas would turn Him over to the Jewish authorities. Scripture tells us that Judas was one of the original twelve disciples, and he traveled with Jesus for three years during Jesus’ ministry.  Three years of travel and companionship with anyone would assumedly lead to a productive and positive relationship.  We would suppose that Judas supported Jesus in His ministry and was a confidant of Jesus.  One would think Jesus would grow to know, trust, and like Judas during their ministry.

In Mark 14:30, Jesus said to Peter, “assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”  Peter was identified in the Bible as one of the closest confidants of Jesus amongst the disciples, as mentioned in Mark 14:33 when Jesus went to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane “And he took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed.”  Hours before His capture, He brought Peter with Him, knowing the entire time that Peter would “turn his back” on Jesus and deny knowing Him on three separate occasions.

Has someone betrayed you?  Have you been hurt in a relationship, physically, emotionally, or mentally?  The pain caused by the betrayal from others can be devastating and sometimes, life-altering.  Each of us has our own story with likely very good reason to resent, dislike, or mistrust a person. We might resent the way they treated us, abused us, disregarded our relationship, our trust, our friendship, and might have damaged any possible future relationship with them. Unfortunately, carrying the burden or “baggage” from that betrayal can derail our lives. Perhaps we allow one incident to steal our trust, joy, belief, or even happiness in future relationships.  It is difficult to be hurt and not allow that hurt to carry over to other areas of our lives.

But then we read in Mark 14:24, when Jesus institutes the Lord’s Supper and He said, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.”   At the very same table with Judas and Peter, Jesus forgave them.  He introduced the Lord’s Supper as the act to recognize the “new covenant.”  Luke 22:19-20 describes this event in a bit more detail in verse 19 And He took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to them, saying “This is My body which his given for you; do this in remembrance of Me. Verse 20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying “this cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”

The new covenant was God’s commitment to forgive us of our sins, through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.  We can be assured that God forgives us of our sins, no matter how awful, if we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness.  The new covenant provides us the opportunity to spend eternity in Heaven, when we commit to and believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins.  What a magnificent gift we have been given, for free.

So, during His final hours on earth, knowing that He would be betrayed by two of His closest confidants, He forgave them.  He not only forgave them, but He gave them communion teaching them how to forgive others.

Yes, forgiveness is hard.  We may forgive but we may never forget.  That’s ok but we must resolve and absolve hatred, resentment, animosity, and strife for others.  Jesus modeled for us, hours before His death, the ultimate gesture of forgiveness.  Perhaps we can muster the courage and confidence to forgive others, even when it might seem impossible at the time.

We can see differences in our world from finite to infinte (David LaFrance also referred to this on 7/27). To summarize or recap the context from my own perspective, we often think of finite: Winner vs. loser, good or bad, binary (ones and zeros), one or the other.

We put God in the finite box when we doubt his will, his word, his plans, his promises when something “seems” to not go our way. Mankind and even Satan thought of a finite God with the mindset that the death of Jesus was the end of God’s plan (alive vs. dead). But God showed himself to be infinite through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In today’s reading of Mark 12 the chief priests, scribes, elders, and Pharisees question Jesus in an attempt to trap him or prove him wrong in a finite context. Jesus in his infinite wisdom blew them all away each time, leaving the crowd speechless. Here are their various responses (which I’ve bolded for reference):

And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away. (Mark 12:12)

Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him. (Mark 12:17)

And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions. (Mark 12:34)

And the great throng heard him gladly. (Mark 12:37b)

• Reflect on the responses of those who heard Jesus real-time. What is our response? In what situations do we walk away and when do we hear him gladly?
• In what ways do we also mistakenly attempt to make God “finite”? Hint: Our sins speak loudest.
• Spend some time meditating on the infinite and eternal attributes of God. Praise him for what he has done, is doing, and will do in your life. A lowercase finite “god” doesn’t care about you but our infinite loving God loves you and seeks a personal relationship with you! Let him in your heart today.

What’s your “impossible”? Give it over to the God of the possible!

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

Mark 10,11

Several years ago, the state of Illinois changed the title printed on real estate licenses.  Way back when I earned my license, it was titled “Real Estate Salesperson.”  Today, we get the more prestigious title of “Real Estate Broker.”   For some, this is a setup for heartache.  It happens in the first couple of trainings where newly minted licensees learn how to sell.  “Wait a minute.  I’m NOT a salesperson,” is the decree.  A shocking 50% of real estate agents drop out within the first year.  Why?  They become disheartened when they learn what it takes to be a successful salesperson.

The same is true of Christ-followers.  Today, in Mark 10:16-22, we read about the rich young ruler.  He came to Jesus excited.  So excited that he ran up to him.  He even knelt down in front of Jesus so that he could learn the secrets of eternal life.  Unfortunately, he got an answer that he didn’t like.  Jesus told him, simply and lovingly, go and sell all your possessions.  This, sadly, was not something the rich young ruler was willing to do.  The Bible says that upon hearing Jesus’ words, he went away disheartened and sorrowful.

Before you begin thinking that this does not apply to you, take a minute to reflect.  What, exactly, are you willing to endure to follow Christ? In today’s world, it is not unfathomable that you could lose your job for declaring Christ as king.  Is that why you keep quiet?  What about prison, or death?  I took a trip to Morrocco once where there was a real possibility for sharing my faith in Jesus.  It definitely gave me pause!

This was not the case for the disciples.  Instead, their amazement (Mark 10:32) of Christ led them to push through their fears and successfully live Christ-following lives.