The Road to Calvary - Day 12: Jesus’ Final Lesson

What are you worshiping? Now, that may seem like an odd question because not many of us bow down to statues.

So think about it this way. How are you spending your time, talents, and treasure? Well, today on Living on the Edge, Jesus will challenge us to reflect on who or what we are truly devoted to.

I'm Dave Druey. Thanks for being with us as we pick up in our series, The Road to Calvary. In this program, our Bible teacher, Chip Ingram, will be back in Mark chapter 11, analyzing the last time Jesus taught to the crowds and confronted the religious leaders, and why what he said then matters so much to us now. So grab your Bible and notes, and let's settle in for Chip's message, Jesus' final lesson. Welcome to day 12 of our study of the Gospel of Mark, and we are going to pack it in today because it's Tuesday, and it will be the last public teaching that Jesus has, and he's going to cover a lot. He's going to have literally debates with religious leaders, and then a pretty sincere guy is going to come up, and he's going to ask him a really honest question that Jesus will then explain. And then after that, he's going to do some teaching to the crowd, and then it's his last teaching. This is the last we'll hear why Jesus is on earth, what he will teach.

Let's pick up the context. We know on Sunday there was the triumphal entry, right? Hosanna, palm leaves, blankets coming in on the colt. Then on Monday he's walking into Jerusalem because he's going to clear the temple, and he cursed the fig tree. He's giving them a little picture. As he walked by, he was hungry. He looked for fruit, no fruit.

He curses the tree. And scholars and all through Old Testament, the fig tree is often a picture of Israel, and we'll find today that Jesus is going to make a point of that. So now it's Tuesday, and he and the disciples are coming into Jerusalem for round two. Jesus knows what's going to happen on Friday. Disciples are with him. He said, this shall be a house of prayer.

Tension is everywhere. Picking it up in verse 20 of chapter 11, in the morning they went along. They saw the fig tree withered from the roots, and Peter remembered and said to Jesus, Rabbi, look, the fig tree that you cursed has withered. Response, have faith in God, Jesus answered. I tell you the truth. If anyone says to this mountain, go throw yourself into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

Teaching time. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask for in faith, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him.

Why? So that your Father in heaven may forgive your sins. Now in context here, this is some of the last time Jesus is teaching. This one incident is in the context of all that he's taught them about prayer.

I only say that because there's groups that will take this one verse, right? Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe you'll get it. And if you just believe hard enough that everything happens by belief. Well, faith is going to be crucial, but it's faith in the Jesus that we're studying, not in some mythical Jesus that wants to make all our lives happen in the way that we want them to happen so that we're all wealthy and healthy and never have a problem.

Just a little aside. But notice, Jesus takes this moment to talk about faith yet again. Will you follow me? How do we follow? By faith. What does faith evidence? It evidences a life of obedience, of following him in service, first half of the book, and following him in suffering, second half of the book.

Now the battle begins. They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders came up to him. By what authority are you doing these things, referring to turning over all those tables and calling the temple my Father's house, etc. Who gave you authority to do this?

And Jesus is as shrewd as a serpent and as innocent as a dove. His response, he answers the question with a question. I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I'm doing these things. John's baptism, was it from heaven or from men?

Tell me. They discussed it among themselves. You can see him going over to the little corner and talking about this. If we say from heaven, he will ask, well, why didn't you believe him? But if we say from men, they feared the people for everyone held that John really was a prophet. So they answered Jesus, we don't know.

Jesus said, neither will I tell you by what authority I'm doing these things. He turns the tables lovingly, kindly, but I mean in their face. And then what he's going to do is he's going to tell the crowd a parable so that they see the real picture and then watch the response.

He then, notice the author, Mark wants us to know, this is all happening at the same time. He then began to speak to them in parables. Here's the parable. A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the wine press and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey.

At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard, this very common practice. But they seized him and they beat him and they sent him away empty handed. Then he sent another servant to them and they struck this one on the head and treated him shamefully. He then sent another and that one they killed and then he sent many others.

Some of them they beat, others they killed. He had one left to send, a son whom he loved. He sent him last of all saying, they will respect my son. But the tenant said to one another, this is the heir, come, let's kill him and the inheritance will be ours. So they took him and they killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. Question, what then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.

And then he makes this application. Haven't you read the scripture? And he's quoting one of the Psalms, the stone the builders rejected has become the capstone or the most significant stone.

The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes. Then they looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them, but they were afraid of the crowd. So they left him and they went away. Do you see what he did? By what authority?

You answered this question. And then he gives this parable and the owner of the vineyard is God. The one he sent was his son. And notice this, the Pharisees knew he's talking about us, but that little phrase, the inheritance will be ours. They were so committed to having their position and the money and the power that came from their position. And yet, think of this, they knew God's word better than anyone. They'd gone to the best schools, had the scrolls, had the most material.

They were actual teachers of all the Old Testament. And when they stare into the truth, they say, no. And what do they want to do? They want to kill him.

Well, when you want to get rid of someone, the goal is to get rid of them in a way where you don't have to do the dirty work. And then the other problem is if you're a Jew, because you're under Roman rule, you don't have the right to exercise capital punishment. So let's try a sneak attack. Let's see if we can catch him in a way so that no matter what he says, he'll be condemned. Verse 13, later they, religious leaders, sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, teacher, we know that you're a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men because you pay no attention to who they are, but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.

This is so serpiate sick. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn't we pay? But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. Why are you trying to trap me, he asked. Bring a dinaris, which was the coin of the day, and let me look at it. They brought the coin and he asked them, whose portrait is this and whose inscription? Caesar's, they replied. Then Jesus said to them, give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. And they were all amazed at him. Again, he's so wise.

And give to Caesar what Caesar's. They tried to trap him, but it didn't work. Well, they're not done. There's another group that doesn't believe in the resurrection. Pharisees were the conservatives, the Sadducees were the liberals.

They didn't believe in the supernatural. And they were really the movers and the shakers. They had a lot of money.

They had a lot of prestige. And you had these two groups that they weren't very good friends with one another, but they now have a common enemy. Jesus is messing up everyone. So the Pharisees and teachers of the law, they took their best shot with the trick question about taxes.

Now the Sadducees come. They don't believe in the resurrection and they're going to try and trick him with a hypothetical story. Then the Sadducees who say there is no resurrection came to him with a question. Teacher, they said, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving children. The second one married the widow, but he also died leaving no children.

It was the same with the third. In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. And here's the trap. At the resurrection, which we don't believe in, whose wife will she be since she had seven marriages? We got you, right?

We got you again. Notice his response. Jesus replied, are you not an heir because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God. When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage.

They will be like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising. If you want to know about resurrection, let me make this clear. Have you not read in the book of Moses in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, I am present tense, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, God of the living.

You are badly mistaken. So he's tackling them in their areas and he's proving a number of theological points. And here's what I want to give to you all. How important God's word is. He could have reached back into a number of Old Testament passages to prove the resurrection.

Now think of this. See, Jesus said, not a jot or a tittle. Those are kind of little marks. In Hebrew, when you write Hebrew, a jot, there's a little thing that goes over one of the letters so you know what the letter is, and a jot or a tittle. It's old, but it's in Hebrew script. And Jesus said earlier that not a jot or a tittle will be removed from God's word. He's come to fulfill it. He believes in the actual word of God, not just the concepts, but the word. And he defends the resurrection on the tense of a verb.

I mean, look at this. It's not, I was the God of Abraham, he's dead, of Isaac or Jacob. He defends the resurrection on, have you never read, God said to Moses, I am, present tense.

In other words, Abraham is living, Isaac is living, and Jacob is living. He says, you don't know the scriptures and you don't know the power of God. At this point, one of the teachers of the law, who's very sincere, and he's been watching these different debates, and he has a genuine question. And so in verse 28, one of the teachers of the law came and he heard them debating. And noticing Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked, of all the commandments, which is the most important? The most important one Jesus answered is this, and he's going to quote Deuteronomy 6, 4 and following. Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Monotheism, there's only one God. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. And the second is this, love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no commandment greater than these. You're listening to Living on the Edge. We'll return you to Chip's message in just a minute. But let me quickly share with you, God has called us to do incredible ministry work all around the world. And when you regularly give to Living on the Edge, you're a part of what we do.

So consider becoming a monthly partner today, then visit livingonthedge.org. We appreciate your generous support. With that, here's Chip. Now here's the response of this teacher of the law. This guy knows the Scriptures backward and forward and he's got a tender heart.

Well said, teacher, the man replied. You were right in saying that God is the one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. What's been the theme with these religious leaders? Tradition versus truth, religion versus relationship. He asked Jesus, what's the greatest commandment?

A lot of people are on the edge, right? Is he the Messiah? Is he not the Messiah? There's teachers of the law that every time he preaches, you know, they're going back and saying, does this line up? And okay, I read in Zechariah, he came on a coat. He seems to be fulfilling prophecies, but is he the one or is he not the one?

I mean, they're wrestling with these things. And so one of them comes and asks this question and he gets this answer and then he responds because what this teacher has, he's understood the spirit of the law. He understands it's loving God and loving our neighbors and the whole issue of religious sacrifices and burnt offerings were all leading up to this moment of the Messiah. When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said, you are not far from the kingdom. And from then on, no one dared ask him any more questions. And so it's like, okay, round one, round two, round three, they've tried to trap him.

No one's winning any of these arguments. Now Jesus flips the tables and he says, let me ask you a question because the issue is, is he the Messiah? Is he the anointed one? And so he's going to pull out of Psalm 110 a quote about the Messiah and he's going to sort of trap him as maybe not the right word. He's going to cause them to go, oh, you know what? I don't know how to answer that question.

Notice what he says. While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, how is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? When David himself speaking by the Holy Spirit declared, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. David calls him Lord.

How then can he be his son? The large crowd listened to him with delight. As he taught, Jesus said, watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplace and have the most important seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets. They devour widows' houses for a show and make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished severely. And so Jesus turns the tables. He asks a theological question, one that puzzles them where they realize he is the son of David, but how is this actually going to work and what they will learn in the days that follow as he dies, as he's resurrected, how Jesus, in fact, is the son of David in the line and is the Messiah and how he is God. And he leaves them with that.

And then he points to these religious leaders and he says, beware of them. They're arrogant and they're proud. This is what they do.

It's external and it's for a show. So what's the value? Humility. Faith and humility continue to come through Jesus' teaching. When it comes to trusting God and walking humbly before him and not doing things for external appearance or to impress other people by what we say or by what we do, how are you doing?

I think we all struggle with this. And I just want to be careful that we don't, you know, point at these Pharisees like, they're the religious people and we're the great disciples. And the fact of the matter is, pride is an issue for all of us. And God is opposed to the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.

And I would say that whether it's in business or whether it's in a Sunday school class, whether it's in ministry, whether it's because your kids all seem to have turned out right, we've got to be very, very careful. The more successful you become, the easier it is to become proud. I remember the words of the apostle Paul, what do you have that you haven't received? In other words, everything we have has been given to us by God.

Every good and perfect gift God has given to us. So whatever success, whether it's in business or leadership or a great family or financially, he wants them to know, don't make those religious leaders and those external signs the things you go for. If you want to be close to God, if you want to be great, what? Be a servant. Be humble. Recognize where your success comes from. Be a steward of that. Use that to serve and love other people. In fact, he's really going to make the point, as he's in the temple area, he's had this debate with the religious leaders, he's had a sincere guy come up and kind of get some really right answers, and he said, those leaders, don't model your life, don't think they're the heroes, they're arrogant.

It's humility that the Father values. And then he's kind of sitting around, walking, and in this temple area, there would be a box where people could come and they would put their offerings. And the text goes on, Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting in their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people came and threw in large amounts, but a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, put in everything, all that she had to live on.

Do you see what he's saying? Our status before God, even in our giving, isn't about how much, it's the extent of our sacrifice. It was her loyalty. She didn't have much. She had very little to give, but her little came from a heart that said, God, this probably won't do hardly anyone any good, but it's all I have. And what I want to do is give you all I have.

What Jesus has been teaching the disciples up to now and at the climax and the close of this teaching, he's saying, this is what I'm looking for. I'm looking for this kind of a heart, right? We just learned love God with all your heart, your soul, your mind, your strength. Well, what kind of heart?

This kind of heart. And by the way, what's the enemy of our heart? What's the opposite of worshiping Christ? According to Jesus, it's not the devil. He says the opposite of Christ is mammon.

We believe it is money and prestige and power and the things that come from money. That's what we worship other than Jesus. So that's why Jesus talks so much about money and why. I mean, this is Tuesday. He's not going to be with him very long.

Why make a big point about this? Because what he knows is what we do with our money is the clearest reflection of what's really going on in our heart. Now, Jesus' final teaching is going to be about hope. And the disciples, they're going to walk outside and they're going to take a look at the temple and they're going to ask some questions because in casual conversation, they're going to say, wow, how beautiful this is. And then Jesus is going to make some prophecy. And so what I want to do is give you in context what's happening here.

It's Tuesday. He's done the debates. He's given a clear picture of what's going on. He's given them warnings. And we pick it up in chapter 13, as he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, look, teacher, what massive stones, what magnificent buildings.

And they're still impressed with all the exterior stuff. Jesus says, do you see these great buildings? Not one of these stones will be left on another. Every one of them will be thrown down. And that happens in AD 70. As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, tell us when these things will happen and what will be the signs that they are about to be fulfilled. Now, from verse 5 to verse 13, he's going to give them a near-term fulfillment.

And then in verse 14 through the end of the chapter, it's long-term. The near prophecy goes like this. He tells them, watch out that no one deceives you.

Many will come in my name claiming I am he and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There'll be earthquakes in various places and famines.

These are all the beginning of birth pangs. Some of this sounds rather familiar. You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to local councils. You'll be flogged in synagogues. On account of me, you'll stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. Whenever you're arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what you just say.

Just say whatever is given you at that time, for it will not be you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. Warning, brother will betray brother to death and a father to his child. Children rebel against their parents and will have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And he's talking about the near-term.

And then in the flow, he's now going to talk about what's coming long-term. Big shift in verse 14. When you see the abomination that causes desolation, and he's quoting Daniel chapter 9. When you see this happen, standing where it does not belong, let the reader understand and let those in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the house to take anything out.

Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers. Pray that this will not happen and take place in winter because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning when God created the world until now and never be equaled again. If the Lord had not cut short these days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the chosen or the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. At that time, if anyone says to you, look, here's the Christ, or look, there's the Christ, do not believe it. For false Christ and false prophets will appear.

They'll perform signs and miracles to deceive even the elect if that were possible. So be on your guard. I've told you everything ahead of time. But in those days, following that distress, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time, talking about his final return, men will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory, and he will send his angels and gather his elect or chosen ones from the four winds and from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. Now learn this lesson from the fig tree.

As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Then the thing that we all wonder, when is that thing going to happen?

He says in verse 32, no one knows about the day or the hour, not even the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on your guard. Be alert.

You do not know when the time will come. It's like a man going away. He leaves his house in charge of his servants, each with an assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep his watch. Therefore, keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back, whether in the evening or at midnight or when the rooster crows or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone, watch. Very complex passage, a lot of verses.

Here's what you can get out of it for sure. In near term there's going to be a lot of conflict. Don't be disturbed. That doesn't mean we're done yet.

Those are birth pangs. Long term, when something dramatic happens like Daniel 9, it's a whole other story, but it'll be the desecration in the temple. He says these things will happen, and you'll see actually things happen in the sky, but there's one word here. Keep watch. Watch. Pray. Be on your guard. Be on your guard. Pray. Stand firm. Be on your guard. Watch. What he's saying is you have hope, but be alert.

You have to be alert. You have to live your life. I have to live my life like perhaps today. Live each day as though perhaps today Jesus will come back.

Live with that sense of urgency and also with that sense of hope. Tomorrow we won't have a long passage. We'll have a day where Jesus on Wednesday prepares himself for what he's going to endure. It is one of the most tender passages in all of scripture.

I'll see you then. This is Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. In Chip's message today, Jesus' final lesson is from our series, The Road to Calvary. Before we move on, I hope you'll check out our resources for this study in the book of Mark. Both Chip's message notes and our new free digital devotional will help deepen your faith as we get closer to Easter.

To learn more, visit livingontheedge.org or the Chip Ingram app. Well, I'm joined by our Bible teacher, Chip Ingram, now. Chip, I've heard you say before that how we handle money is actually a great indicator of our faith. Now, what do you mean by that? Well, Dave, I think we all long to believe that what we say and what we think really is who we are. Jesus, in his day, talked so much and taught so much about money, not because he ever became rich. He was trying to get people's money. But our money is the mirror of our heart. Or maybe think about it this way.

It's the MRI of your heart to know what's really in there. What do I really worship? What are my values?

What are my true motives? And what I would say is Jesus' teaching says, your lips declare what you think matters, what your values are and what you worship. That's what your lips declare. Your money reveals where they really are. And so that's why he talks so much about that because really it's love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind, your strength. And the competition for our heart is money. It's the things that we think that can fill us up that money can buy.

Security, significance, impact, impressing others. And so, you know, it really has an impact here at Living on the Edge. When I think of the people who give to Living on the Edge, it's not just that they're giving us their money. We are so grateful. We are good stewards. We are using it in ways that really honor God and lives are being changed.

But to help people understand who God really is and create resources around that and reach the next generation and to say that we really want to make a difference to help Christians live like Christians in a crazy world that we're living in. When people give to the ministry, what they're really saying is, that's on my heart too. I'm with you. We're partners. We're in it together. And so I just want to pause and I want to thank each and every one of you who are partners, who are on mission with us.

Not because you say you are, but because your money is the mirror. It's the MRI that reveals that we are in this together. And you know what? You're not only a part of making a difference, you will be a part of the reward as well. And so we want to pause today and say thank you.

Well, if you're benefiting from Chip's teaching, now would be a great time to join the team. You could minister with us to help others receive the same blessing you're enjoying. You can send a gift at livingontheedge.org or by calling 888-333-6003. Again, that's 888-333-6003. Or visit livingontheedge.org. App listeners, tap donate. Well, until next time, this is Dave Druey saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge.