There's John, baptizing. Hundreds of people he had baptized. Looks up and he sees Jesus coming.
This one is outstanding, separate from the others. And it's sort of just involuntary almost. It just comes right out of John. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Never get tired of it. That never gets old. Takes away my sin from me. Your sin from you if you let him.
That's what makes this the day of selection. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Mark.
Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. And now here's Pastor Rick in the Gospel of Mark chapter 11 as he continues his study called the Day of Selection. Matthew chapter 21, 10. And when he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved saying, who is this? Well, the Galilean Jews didn't have to ask that question. They knew who Christ was.
That's why they're cutting down the palm branches and laying it before him and cheering him on. But the Jerusalem Jews did not know. Most of them.
A great multitude of them. And they're the ones that are making that inquiry and Matthew picks it up. Thanks again to the leaders who made Jerusalem a hostile place where Jesus could not function as he could function further to the north. John's Gospel 11. Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it that they might seize him. There's that hostility that I was mentioning, why he ministered so much in other areas. And so our eyes, as we look at this event, our eyes are on him, on Christ. We hear their praise, but we see him marching toward death and life for us. He has no reason to do this but for sinners.
There is no motivation in the universe as to why God would send his son to suffer such things except to redeem, to purchase back sinners. And by definition, people that aren't very appealing. We may be appealing, have things about us that are appealing to each other, give it time, go on a trip with somebody for a week.
By day five, you're looking to, maybe by day two, depending on your personality, you're looking for relief. Otherwise you could just say, this is a wonderful person, wonderful relationships because we're sinners. We're messed up and God knows it. And he doesn't give up on us and that tells us we're supposed to do some of that to others too. We're not supposed to give up on other people just because they're not behaving, playing properly in life.
We know these things and we are devoted, we who believe, to improving our performance as Christians. That's what conviction is. Conviction says, you know, you got that one wrong and the heart responds, I know, and I want to get it right.
Just working on it. Everything doesn't come right away. So God, please be patient with me, to which God says, okay, but I want you to be patient with others. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Mark's Gospel, chapter 10, again, the words of the blind man. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. He knew he could go to him for mercy and he received it. And you know you can go to him for mercy. Question is, can people come to you for mercy? Sometimes people, of course, want to abuse the mercy. I'm not talking about them.
I'm talking about those who are honest and genuine. Someone from David's line was expected to take the throne and to restore Israel to God's King. The people believed this. They believed that much of the scripture for sure.
There were other areas of scripture that they were very confused about, and most of it because of the rabbis. Hosanna in the highest. This highest that he's referring to here, or as the people are quoting Psalm 118, refers to the heavens and the inhabitants, the Lord of hosts, of those on earth, of those in heaven. And Psalm 148 defines that for us, tells us just that. But they don't go far enough with the Psalm 118, and here's why. They stop here with the Hosanna, but if they continue to the next verse, they stop at verse 26 in Psalm 118. But here's Psalm 118 verse 27.
God is Yahweh, and he has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. Tie it in so it can't get away. If possible, Lord, Father, take this cup from me. Well, it was not possible. The sacrifice was bound to the altar. There was no escape. It was the point of no return. For this purpose, he came.
Jesus said, now I wish it was on right now. He met it eagerly in spite of the horrors. Now the men who bound the sacrifices to be slaughtered, you know, you'd bring your animal there to the altar, and while they were busy with other things, they'd tie it up, and it couldn't have a bunch of animals roaming around the temple ground.
Men use cords, ropes. God uses love. It's much different. He gets us involved, does it not? When God says, this is how you'll know that you're my disciple, that you love one another, he gets us involved. He ties us to the altar. Of course Christ is the sacrifice. He's bound to the cross.
There's nothing that's going to stop this. Verse 11, and Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So when he had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, he went out to Bethany with the 12. Judas is still in that number. He's still a servant. He's still perceived as a servant.
When the crowd saw the 12, they saw Judas too, and they had as much admiration for his position and him in that position as they did for any of the others. This word here for temple in the Greek, again, verse 11, and Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. It is herion, not naos. There's two words that are used for the temple. The outer courts, herion.
That's the precincts, the outer courts. He does not go into the sanctuary. Later, in chapter 14, that will be brought up, and again in chapter 15. They said he would destroy this temple and raise it in three days, a different Greek word.
I hope I'm not losing you on that. My point is, he goes into the temple. He's not going into the sanctuary itself of the temple, but the temple grounds, and that's what Mark is telling us. He went to the temple grounds, and he looked around at what was going on.
It wasn't closed. The people were there. The evening sacrifices would have been offered this time. He got a full-eyes view of how they were doing church.
Those churchgoers, were they abiding by God's word, or were they doing their own thing? So when he had looked around at all things, he surveyed the area and he disliked what he saw. We'll get that in verses 15 and 17 next session. He'll be back the next day, and he will address what he is looking at this evening. He had the whole night to sleep on it. Well, he knew already, but the message that comes out of them, the Holy Spirit says, your master looked around at all things and pondered it through the night.
He wakes up fresh in the morning, and he comes to deal with this. He had an intolerant spirit for phony baloney ministry. Unfortunately, there are many Christians who have high tolerances for phony baloney ministry. Just put another ten dollars in the offering plate and God will bless you.
That's phony baloney stuff. What business is it of any pastor of how much you give? That is between you and God. That is a sacred act. And Christians know what they're supposed to give, so don't go acting like you know how much.
And sometimes it's more and sometimes it's less. You should be tuned into the Spirit. It should be almost a no-brainer because it's a spiritual issue. And, you know, there are times God puts something on your heart, act on it. That's how you develop being led by the Spirit of God. Being led by the Spirit of God is not a one-way street where God is doing all the leading and we're just shuffling along.
It comes with a still small voice here, a stronger voice there. But God is paying attention. Are you listening or you're not? If I've asked you to do something and you don't do it, why should I ask you again to do something? But when you begin to say, I think that's the Lord, I'm going to pursue it. I'm not going to act yet, but I'm going to confirm it.
Now you're developing a relationship. Many times God says, sit there and don't do anything for a long time while everybody else is pushing you to do something. You have to learn how to be led.
As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. Paul knew what he was talking about. This was a man, Paul, that was led into places where he was beat up for God leading him there.
And instead of complaining about why, I thought you said you'd never leave me or forsake me. He'd get up and do it again. He knew this was God. He knew he got the gospel out. That was his mission. His objective was accomplished.
Me, I'd be saying, where was the protection? The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. I've got some wants here. You get tired of getting your heart broken or your head beaten. Not Paul. He never got tired of it. For Christ. Oh, he didn't like it, did not invite it, did not directly provoke it, but he did indirectly provoke it, and he was fine with that. If I preach in this place, they might give me a beating. Okay.
Then let them give me a beating. I mean, after they stoned him, he got up and went back into the city where the people came out and stoned him. Remarkable. Always keeping the standard high. Whenever we complain, and when I complain to God, I know I'm out of bounds to some degree. I know he expects it. I know he says, go ahead, have your say, get your little cry out, and then when you get up, I need you to go do what you're supposed to do. Whether you like it or not, many of the assignments of God to his servants are not things we like. So who needs him if we just did everything we like? And unfortunately, many Christians never get to find out because they never serve publicly. They just serve in the home. That's not enough.
It's not enough. If every Christian did that, what would happen? The world would be worse off. God wants to get us out of our comfort zones when we are in a zone where we should not be, not just for the sake of getting us out of our comfort zone. Anyway, this is ministry, and every Christian should know it. We are left here for a reason. That donkey was useful, and so am I. But I don't have to be. I don't have to be useful to God. I have a say-so in this. I can turn my nose up to serving.
I can say my priorities. I'm not trying to stir you up to serve. I'm just saying what I feel the Lord is telling me to say to you right now.
Maybe there's somebody who can benefit from this, maybe not. Not my decision. I know this. Every Christian should be eager to serve and ready to take hits. And when your little heart gets broken serving in the church, don't go fleeing, retreating, running out. I'm going to another church. Stop that. Stop making it easy for Satan to walk over the church. Do it like that. Stick around for years and hear one little thing they didn't care for, and they have traded, and they've wasted the investment that God has given.
It ain't going to stop with me saying it, but it may be arrested in the life of some individual. A lot of men before me have been very—D.L. Moody was very frustrated with how Christians served, but he never gave up, and neither are we. So when he looked around at all things, he surveyed. And this unannounced visit of the Lord God, as he was, is a sudden appearance in this sense. He suddenly appeared as king. Oh, he had been here before.
He was here when he was 12 years old, and he just baffled everybody with how much he knew. But this time, he's coming as Malachi the prophet clearly said he is coming as the Lord. Malachi 3, verse 1, Behold, I send my messenger. That's John the Baptist. And he will prepare the way before me. That's God the Son. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple. Even the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says Yahweh of hosts. That relationship of God, Yahweh, and Christ is so tightly woven in the prophecies that you can't always tell one from the other because that's what the Trinity is, so woven together, so perfectly joined. He is the Passover Lamb of God, and he has four days to live, four days till death, and he knows it. He's not confused about any of it. The apostles don't get it, but he gets it.
God does not have to have us understand what he is doing to do what he is doing. He tries to get us there. We don't always keep up because it may be distasteful to us, but what overrules is our commitment to him through the Holy Spirit, this day of selection when God supplies himself the lamb. Isaac asked, Where is the lamb? Here's the wood. Here's the fire. There's the altar. What are you going to sacrifice?
You. Genesis 22, And Abraham said, My son, God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering. So the two of them went together. That's how Abraham handled that. Abraham was convinced that if he sacrificed his kid, God would raise him again.
It didn't go that far. It was never God's intention to have Isaac harmed. It was God's intention to expose Abraham's faith all the generations to come. The fullest answer came centuries later from the lips of John the Baptist. When Isaac said, Where is the lamb? John the Baptist said, Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. John Chapter one, verse twenty nine. The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, You see, picture it now. There's John baptizing hundreds of people he had baptized. He looks up and he sees Jesus coming.
This one is outstanding, separate from the others. And it's sort of just involuntary almost. It just comes right out of John. Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Never get tired of it.
That never gets old. He takes away my sin from me. Your sin from you, if you'll let him. That's what makes this the day of selection. While men were selecting their lambs, God had chosen his and was now revealing him. He was separating his lamb. For four days, everyone could observe him to see if there was some spot, some blemish, some defect, something that made him unworthy to bring before God.
They could not find it. This is Sunday sunset, now four days before the cross, which I believe is a Thursday. You can't have the day of selection match the time frame. And then the three days and three nights that the Lord would spend before his resurrection. I believe in a literal three days and a literal three nights, not portions of, or not figuratively. Exodus chapter 12 verse 5, your lamb shall be without blemish. This is that lamb that he said separate in four days, Exodus 12. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. Now, their instructions, what sticks out to us is without blemish.
See, that's why the money changers were ripping the people off. You'd bring your lamb, it would have no blemish. They'd make one up. Look at that. You can't have that.
Well, they all have that. But you couldn't protest with these guys. They had all the authority. They'd say, we'll take your lamb, but you got to buy a new one. And that's what Jesus went and flipped tables over on these people for cheating the people, making merchandise of them over religion. It wasn't as though they were selling them things that were useful.
They were forcing them, extorting them. Hebrews chapter 9, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. If your conscience weren't able to be cleansed from dead works through Jesus Christ, how could you ever serve him?
You'd be too much guilt. But the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sins. And Satan spends a lot of time saying, no, he doesn't.
No, he doesn't. Don't believe it. Putting some doubt in your head when things don't go your way, doubt God. It's so easy to do. Everybody's doing it.
Just get in line. The Christian will have none of that. The Christian will say, I'm not going to doubt. As confused as I am, I'm not doubting. That's that.
What else you got? First Peter chapter 1, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. The language is intentional.
It is connected. Second Peter chapter 3, therefore beloved looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found in him in peace without spot and blameless. In other words, Christ-like. We are to be Christ-like. You say we can't get there.
No, but how much better off will everyone be for us trying to get there? He says here at verse 11, as the hour was already late, he went out to Bethany with the 12. Each night, he'd go back to Bethany, the suburb. He would not stay in Jerusalem.
Too hostile there. But there he had friends. There was Martha and her sister Mary. Mary, who sat under the word, and Martha who said, look, I need her to work. Never mind the Bible study. And Jesus said, nope. Mary has chosen that good thing, and it will not be taken from her.
You are a little lazy, Mary, though he whispered to her, but I just happen to know that. It is kind of frustrating when people do try to hide from their responsibilities using the Bible to do it, but that's not what was going on. It was Martha, Mary, Lazarus, who was raised from the dead, their brother. There was Simon the leper.
I find an interesting character. He's a leper no more, but the name stuck with him as a monument to Christ, no doubt. And then there were those who loaned him the colt, that man in particular, when he said, he will give it to you, the owner. Somebody owned that little donkey. What happened to the donkey? Doubtless, the Lord passed him off to a caretaker.
Take him back. There's no way he would neglect such a deed. We wouldn't find it to be a noble trait in ourselves or someone else, and so we're not going to put it on the Lord. David, when he came to the battlefield where the Jew was supposed to be a battlefield, but it really wasn't working as one. Goliath would come out every day and hurl insults at the Jews and their army, and they challenged him, his brother, what did you do with those sheep?
Well, I left them with the caretaker. Well, it was a noble thing, so much so the Holy Spirit preserved it, and we're not to come to the New Testament and to think that for one minute it was an oversight of God. He just let the donkey wander away or somebody steal it.
He took care of all things. The Romans at this time, at this day of selection, they took no care for these things. His entry into Jerusalem, not until he cleanses the temple does he stir up a little bit more trouble. The religious leaders got a little insulted with him, you know, the people crying out.
He said, stop him, and he said the rocks will cry out if they don't recognize this moment, the fulfillment of Zechariah 14. The Romans would say, what king rides a donkey? He can't be a king.
He can't be a threat. Had he rode in on a steed, he would have been a threat. God, again, doing things the right way, whether we understand it or not.
We do understand this. Again, the Romans would have rallied up, arrested him. How dare you come into Jerusalem prancing on some stallion, acting like you're the king. All the people behind you would have been taken as an uprising.
He flies beneath the radar, but he flies nonetheless. And Zechariah calls it over 400 years before it happens. Zechariah 9, 9, rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. And there we saw them shouting, Hosanna, behold, your king is coming to you. He is just and having salvation, lowly riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. I happen to think donkeys are so cute.
Those are mammoth ones are a little spooky, but they're big, but the other ones, they're kind of cute. Anyway, here, Zechariah, so the Jews had this great expectation, and the day came. Well, the church has a great expectation, too. We have an expectation of his return for us, not when he puts his feet on the Mount of Olives.
We'd expect that, too, but before that comes the call of the church home. John's Gospel, chapter 12, verse 16, his disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered these things were written about him and that they had done these things to him. Again, John 12 is this, is set here, chronologically, it's happening right now, and so when John writes what I just read, he is saying the disciples did not really understand the shouting of the people, the prophecies of Zechariah and Malachi, but they figured it out later because the Spirit revealed it to them. Matthew, again, 2110, and when he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved. That word moved in the Greek is seismic.
We get our word seismic. He shook the city when he came. He continues saying, who is this? That's a pretty good question, and God answers the question, and the people would have had to answer the question. The Galileans would have said, this is Jesus who's cleansed the lepers, who's taught, who put the rabbis in their place, who did this and did that, just like we're supposed to do. When someone wants to know something about Jesus, or if someone says something about Christ that is false, we stand up and say, wait a minute, where'd you get that from? Because it's not in my Bible. Where else would you learn about Jesus? So you must be greatly mistaken because you do not know the scriptures, nor the power of God. God answers this question, who is this?
And to this day, he's using us to do it. Thanks for tuning in to Cross Reference Radio for this study in the book of Mark. Cross Reference Radio is the teaching ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia. To learn more information about this ministry, visit our website, crossreferenceradio.com. Once you're there, you'll find additional teachings from Pastor Rick. We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast. When you subscribe, you'll be notified of each new edition of Cross Reference Radio. You can search for Cross Reference Radio on your favorite podcast app. That's all we have time for today, but we hope you'll join us next time as Pastor Rick continues to teach through the book of Mark right here on Cross Reference Radio.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-09-25 05:52:33 / 2023-09-25 06:02:27 / 10