CRUD!
You know what I failed to do this week? I forgot to publish the text for this weeks teaching. Sometimes life gets the better of me…sorry about that for those who read this.
Well…better late than never. This week we’ll be looking at the last verses of Mark 12….verses 35-44. Read it here.
Jesus is still in the temple, and it’s still during this final week before the cross. In v34, Jesus told a Scribe that because he was in agreement with Jesus about the summation of the commands of God (Love God and love people), he was “not far from the Kingdom of God”. V 35 seems to flow right out of that conversation…even stating that Jesus is “answering” something. What would He be answering?
In his discussion about the improper understanding the Scribes had about what the Messiah would be, Jesus points something out that had been overlooked…what do we understand about the Messiah from the passage in Psalm 110 that He quotes? What does it have to do with the Kingdom of God?
Jesus is harsh in his condemnation of the religious leaders. Do any of His observations sound familiar? Instead of picking on the obvious caricatures of church leadership, how would we apply his warnings to our own lives and spirituality?
What is Jesus watching at the offering box? What does this tell us about our spiritual journey from God’s perspective? What is most important to God, based on these verses?
Anyway…hope you had a good week! See you Sunday, Lord willing.
WONDERWHAT 
It seems to me that Jesus is following up with the Pharisees. He’s gotten them to the point where they will ask him no more questions because they are afraid of his answers. But he continues, and starts to ask them questions that they can’t answer. I think he really cares for them and desires so much for them to peel away their sheltered understanding of who Christ is and to open the their hearts to the reality of the fact that he is standing before them.
Again, Jesus is showing that his is an upside down kingdom. Those that you think are spiritual maybe aren’t. Those that you think aren’t contributing so much, might be giving more than all. It is an entirely different set of values. It is an other worldly way of defining things.
With the unnamed women and her offering, we again are shown that it is not the weight of your gift that matters, but the weight of your desire that seems to be important.
I am still pondering the fact God only looks at the motives behind our giving (which also includes giving of ourselves in ways other than financially). Doesn’t this go against everything that our culture tells us? How do we have relationships with others that do not understand this concept from God’s perspective?