Only the Father Knows

 Meditations of the Gospel of Mark

 October 6, 2020

Only the Father Knows

“Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.”

Mark 13:31

Read: Mark 13: 28-37

Because of Jesus’ dramatic use of hyperbole in describing the destruction of Jerusalem, Chapter 13 can be a bit confusing. Is Jesus pointing to just the destruction of Jerusalem, or God’s judgement on the entire world, or is this passage about the Second Coming of Jesus? It is about Jerusalem, as verse 30 makes clear: “I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene before all these things take place.” Why then all of the cosmic references? And, why is this important to us today?

Jesus wanted the First Century church to fully grasp the magnitude of what the destruction of Jerusalem would bring on the Jews. Without the Temple, the pagan influence would destroy the Jewish civilization. Therein is our message for today. Jesus’ call to Mark’s church was to hold fast to their faith and not compromise with the fashions and standards of the pagan invaders. That message is just as valid today! Today, Jesus is calling his followers to be vigilant and not ‘go along to get along’ in this present age.

My Takeaway: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.” (Hebrews 13:8,15)

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Copyright © 2020 by Alex M. Knight

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

• Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

• The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.