Staying Alert

Meditations of the Gospel of Mark

October 5, 2020

Staying Alert

“Watch out! I have warned you about this ahead of time!”

Mark 13:23

Read: Mark 13: 14-27

Chapter 13 began with a discussion of the fall of the Temple. Jesus encouraged his followers to hold firm in their faith. At the conclusion of this chapter, Jesus gives his disciples warning signs that the fall is very near. When they see those signs, they need to flee Jerusalem because the end is at hand. His final word to them is to stay alert; no one knows when the end is coming.

The end Jesus is discussing is the end of the Temple system for the Jews and the destruction of Jerusalem. Civil unrest led to a complete breakdown of Jewish society. Starvation was rampant for the Jews. From 66-70 AD, Jerusalem was terrorized by the Romans. Thousands of Jews were crucified, and the Temple was burned.

Imagine how you might feel if a foreign army looted, desecrated and destroyed Washington DC and all the symbols of our national heritage. Even that does not compare to the loss of culture and national identity experienced by the Jews when Jerusalem fell in 70 AD.

However, the fall of Jerusalem was not the end for Mark and his church. This gospel was written after the resurrection of Jesus. His church had the sure hope of eternal life and the continuing and abiding presence of the Holy Spirit for comfort and guidance as they proclaimed the Good News of Jesus Christ.

My Takeaway: Being prepared and staying alert is not so difficult when you are focused on the presence of Emmanuel, God with us.

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.