The Friends and Foes of Christ

The streets of Jerusalem are packed with Jewish travelers from all over Palestine with their animals ready for sacrifice. It is now two days before Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the national celebration of Israel's deliverance from Egyptian captivity (Exod 12). The disciples of Jesus follow their Rabbi and Messiah in and out of the city in the final days before "the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again" (Mk 8:31).

According to Mark, there are two very different crowds in Jerusalem during this week: the "foes" of Christ and the "friends" of Christ.

In Mark 14:1–2, the foes of Christ "were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him." In Mark 14:3–9, the friend of Christ is a woman who generously anoints His head with very costly ointment of pure nard. And in Mark 14:10–11, the foes of Christ "sought an opportunity to betray him."

This "sandwich" structure in Mark 14:1–11 is arranged in such a way that the reader does not miss the surrounding context of man's depravity in addition to the woman's costly devotion to Christ. The dark backdrop of the scheming, scandalous scribes and the satanically-driven Judas Iscariot sets this woman's beautiful deed done unto Jesus in clear focus to be admired and followed by all who would call themselves "friends" of Christ.

Many times what makes our good deeds "beautiful" (14:6) is when pure, unashamed, undivided devotion to Christ is surrounded by the foes of Christ hurling their insults and satisfying their sinful pleasures that lead them to rebel against His authority as the Son of God. Stand with Christ when men only stand against Him. Prize Christ so highly that you'd be willing to risk it all just to serve at His feet.

It Contradicts His Holiness, and He Must Hate It

Wayne Grudem on the Definition of Sin (Systematic Theology, 492):

"Finally, we should note that this definition ["sin is lawlessness" 1 Jn 3:4] emphasizes the seriousness of sin. We realize from experience that sin is harmful to our lives, that it brings pain and destructive consequences to us and to others affected by it. But to define sin as failure to conform to the moral law of God, is to say that sin is more than simply painful and destructive--it is also wrong in the deepest sense of the word. In a universe created by God, sin ought not to be approved. Sin is directly opposite to all that is good in the character of God, and just as God necessarily and eternally delights in himself and in all that he is, so God necessarily and eternally hates sin. It is, in essence, the contradiction of the excellence of his moral character. It contradicts his holiness, and he must hate it."

Does that make you see your sin any clearer? Hate your sin any more? Know your God any better?

You Choose: The Least Sin or the Greatest Affliction?

Jeremiah Burroughs (1599–1646) in his Puritan work, The Evil of Evils, proposes:

[I]t is a very evil choice for any soul under heaven to choose the least sin rather than the greatest affliction. Better be under the greatest affliction than be under the guilt or power of any sin...There is more evil in sin than in outward trouble in the world; more evil in sin than in all the miseries and torments of hell itself.

He illustrates:

Suppose that God should bring any of you to the brink of that bottomless gulf and open it to you, and there you should see those damned creatures sweltering under the wrath of the infinite God, and there you should hear the dreadful and hideous cries and shrieks of those who are under such soul-amazing and soul-sinking torments through the wrath of the Almighty. Yet, I say, there is more evil in one sinful thought than there is in all these everlasting burnings...

Do we think of sin as we ought? Do we realize just one wicked deed's wickedness; one sin's sinfulness; one evil thought's evil? When given the choice of sin or affliction, will we look to Christ in that moment? Will we see the great affliction that He endured for just one of our sins (and all the others)? Will we be content to share in the afflictions of Christ, choosing righteousness, and not choose to sin? Or will we choose the evil of evils: sin?

There Will Be No Riots in Hell

Alva McClain in his excellent work, The Greatness of the Kingdom (p. 25), says:

The strange notion that the devil is the king of hell has no basis in divine revelation. God is the King of hell, just as He is the King of everything else in time and space. And because this is so, that everlasting prison-house of the lost will not be the noisy and disorderly place that is sometimes imagined by the popular mind. There is no more orderly place than a well-disciplined prison, even under imperfect human government. There will be no riots in hell.

"The LORD has prepared his throne in the heavens; and His kingdom reigns over all" (Ps 103:19).

Three Essentials of Ministry Preparation

Those of you who are serious about serving Christ with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength, please consider Charles Bridges' words of encouragement:

"Upon the whole, it is most important to mark the combination of these three Sections of Ministerial preparation--Study, Prayer, and Exercise. The omission of one of these, whichever it may be, weakens the practical influence of the rest. Study furnishes the materials--Prayer sanctifies them--Exercise makes a suitable distributive application of them to the several cases brought before us."

Taken from Christian Ministry, page 67. This section on The View of the Christian Ministry focuses on "The Employment in the Cure of Souls," in other words, what the work is like that has eternal impact on others for the sake of Christ's Kingdom.

We all would do well to consider these three pillars of ministry preparation. Ministry should be your every-day occupation. Life ceases to become about ministry when Christ ceases to become your Master. In some way and somehow we tend to neglect study of the Word which "stores the mind," prayer to God Himself which "infuses a divine influence," and exercise of all that we have come to know about God's instruction which "carries out the resources into effective agency."

Where do you fall short in ministry? What is your personal plan for being committed to study, prayer, and exercise?

God's Glorious Purposes for the Tribulation

The Olivet Discourse (Matt 24–25; Mk 13; Lk 21), John's Revelation (esp. 6–19), and Daniel's visions (esp. Dan 9:24–27) along with several other biblical references mark some of the hardest passages in Scripture to interpret. Do we apply them to the persecution of the early church? Do we apply them to the tribulations that the church is experiencing now? Or is there a more literal sense in these prophetic passages that applies to the future events immediately preceding Christ's coming and the end of the age (Matt 24:3)?

The "futurist" position, which this writer holds, takes these prophetic passages to be still future in their fulfillment rather than past or present. Despite all the persecutions and tribulations that the church has ever experienced from governments, other hostile peoples and religions, and false christs, there is a time coming when God will pour out His judgment on an unbelieving world (church removed) for rejecting Christ's sacrifice and authority in their lives. And His judgment will be far worse.

"For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be" (Mk 13:19). "And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book" (Dan 12:1). And the reason for this most unique "time of trouble" is because John saw that it was "the Lamb [who] opened one of the seven seals" (Rev 6:1a). God's judgment is far worse than persecution from men or even the schemes of Satan.

God says to the church that has kept his word about patient endurance: "I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world" (Rev 3:10). We believe that God will rapture ("snatch up") the living saints on the earth prior to His return to be with all those who have believed (1 Thess 4:17). "For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ" (5:9). It is "Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come" (1 Thess 1:10).

At the rapture Jesus will return for His saints, whereas at the Second Coming Jesus will return with His saints (Rev 19:14). At the rapture we will meet Him in the clouds (1 Thess 4:17), whereas at the Second Coming Jesus will return to the earth (Rev 19:11ff).

Before Christ returns, God has specific purposes and plans for the Tribulation Period before Christ unites all things in Him, things on heaven and things on earth (Eph 1:10) in the Millennial Kingdom and into the Eternal State:

Purpose #1: Judgment for an unbelieving world

1. Revelation 3:10 refers to the Tribulation period as "the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell upon the earth." The first major purpose of the Tribulation, then, is to test the unbelieving world. “Those who dwell upon the earth” refers to those who are unbelievers on earth during the period described in Revelation 4-19. (Thomas Edgar, "An Exegesis of Rapture Passages," in Issues in Dispensationalism, p. 216)
2. As the three series of judgments (seals, trumpets and bowls) are being poured out on the earth during the period of the Tribulation, every creature will be held responsible to the Creator for resisting Him and breaking His laws.
3. God will deal violently yet justly with all the pagan nations during this time. He will prove that though “the nations rage and the peoples plot” against Him, their rebellion is “in vain” (Psalm 2:1). “The rulers take counsel together against the LORD and against his anointed” (2:2) but “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision” (2:4).
4. Paul Benware adds, “These judgments are another step in dealing with sin in preparation for the Messiah’s reign of righteousness on earth. But it is clear that God could judge sinners completely in a matter of moments and does not need seven years. This suggests that judgment, though important in the plan of God, is not the main reason for the seven-year period of tribulation.”

Purpose #2: Preparation of a future generation of Israel

1. “The Bible teaches that the Tribulation is a time of preparation for Israel's restoration and conversion (Deut 4:29, 30; Jer 30:3-11; Zech 12:10)." (Ice and Demy, p. 36)
2. Ezekiel 20:37 says, “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.”
3. Daniel 12:1 says, “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.”
4. Zechariah 13:8 says, “In the whole land, declares the LORD, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. 9 And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”
5. A great number of Jews will be saved in the Tribulation. They will flee into the wilderness (Rev 12:6, 13–14). And final salvation will come to believing Jews at the end of the Tribulation period (Zech 12:10ff).
6. Romans 11:26 says, “And so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, ‘The deliverer will come from Zion, he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.’” So all Israel, that will inherit the Kingdom, will be saved.

Purpose #3: Salvation of an unnumbered amount of Gentiles

1. This purpose is more of a bi-product or an result of God’s intentions in the Tribulation. They are referred to as martyrs (Rev 6:9; 7:9–10) because believing in Christ during this time will cost their life. Nevertheless, one cry will come out from every nation and tribe and people and language: "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb" (Rev 7:10).
2. Either the two witnesses (Rev 11:3), the 144,000 sealed saints of Israel (Rev 7:4), the angels (Rev 14:6, 7) or the appearance of Christ at the end of the tribulation (Rev 19) will be used to bring about the salvation of these Gentiles.

It seems that a literal, grammatical, historical interpretation of certain prophetic passages of Scripture leads us "to wait for his Son from heaven" (1 Thess 1:10a) who will come with judgment, power and glory (Matt 24:30) to establish His heavenly kingdom on the earth (Rev 20:1–6). "For God has put all things in subjection under his feet" (1 Cor 15:27a; Eph 1:22).

"Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt 6:10).

A Prayer of Moses, the Man of God

Most of the time we think of the Psalms as being written by King David, the Sons of Korah, or Asaph--which most of them are--but what about Moses? Book 4 (Pss 90–106) of the Psalms begins with: "A prayer of Moses, the man of God" (note: the superscriptions in the Psalms ARE inspired Scripture so don't read over them lightly!). So when you come across biblical insight like this, it is significant to keep in mind the life and other writings of Moses as you read Psalm 90.

A couple of examples illustrate this point:

Psalm 90:1 "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations."

Moses was God's chosen servant-leader during Israel's captivity, exodus, and flight from Egypt and their wandering in the wilderness. Most notably, Moses was given the Law of God to help Israel live according to God's holy standards. Also during their wandering from Egypt to the Promised Land as they departed from Mount Sinai, "Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp" (Ex 33:7).

The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament says, of the word "dwelling place":

NwøoDm (maœ{o®n) dwelling, habitation.
NwøoDm. Dwelling. (ASV, RSV similar except 1 Sam 2:29, 32 and Zeph 3:17 where RSV emends to read “eye”.) It is used eighteen times. This word is used to depict the ruins of desolate cities now the dwelling place of wild animals. Most frequently it designates the Lord’s dwelling place, i.e. heaven (always qualified with the word “holy”) and the temple (Ps 26:8). Finally it portrays the Lord as a refuge for his people (71:3; 90:1; 91:9).

Derek Kidner, in his Psalms 73–150 Commentary, says, " 'Dwelling place' is specially relevant to this psalm's emphasis on human rootlessness, and is a metaphor found also in the Blessing of Moses: 'the eternal God is your dwelling place' " (Deut 33:27).

"Moses, the man of God," had a unique role and privilege among the people of Israel because he sought the glory of God. "The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend" (33:11). The God who appeared to Moses in the burning bush and on the fiery mountain top at Sinai met with Moses regularly in the tent of meeting in order that Moses might lead the people of God in holy service and humble obedience to Him.

So for Moses to pray to God: "Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations" in Ps 90:1, you can see what he means. God has always been a refuge for His people, in captivity, wilderness, and on their way to the Promised Land as they trust in His promises.

Psalm 90:3 "You return man to dust and say, 'Return, O children of man!'"

The text Moses was probably meditating on was Genesis 1–3 (which He wrote through God's superintendence). A number of observations in his prayer prove this point: 

1. In verse 2, Moses references God being God even before He brought forth mountains and formed the earth and the world. This is obviously reminiscent of the Creation account in Genesis 1 (especially Gen 1:1).
2. Although in verse 3 the Hebrew word for 'dust' is different than in Genesis 3:19 ("for you are dust, and to dust you shall return"), it is the same verb 'return' which ties back to the curse on mankind for Adam's sin. This reference to the Fall and death as our sentence serves as the setting for the rest of the Psalm.
3. Each verse referring to God's anger and wrath toward man's iniquity serves to remind man that under the curse we all are brought to an end (v. 7), dismayed (v. 7), and in severe affliction (15). And if God is not our dwelling place (v. 1), our all-satisfying steadfast love (v. 14), and the Granter of divine favor (v. 17) then we will remain under His wrath.
4. In verses 4 and 10, it may be that Moses is intentionally contrasting the long lives of the patriarchs in Genesis (Adam=930; Seth=912; Methuselah=969) with the lives of those in Israel at the time of his writing (70 or 80 years). Regardless, it is true that "our years are soon gone, and we fly away" (90:10).

It must be kept in mind that Genesis and Psalms are different literary genres (narrative and poetry), even though there are poetic elements in Genesis. The Psalms function as heart-felt reflections on and exaltations of the eternal character and covenant relationship of God to His people.

Psalm 90:12 "So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom."

This prayer is similar to Isaiah 40 for its presentation of God's greatness and eternality over frail humanity, but while Isaiah is encouraging his readers in a positive tone, Moses has a more sober tone of correction for the iniquities of God's people. 

In Deuteronomy 34:5, 7 and 9, it says, "So Moses the servant of the LORD died there... 7 Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated... 9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses."

So even though Moses did not physically lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land, "there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face" (Deut 34:10). He heeded his own advice. He lived his own prayer in Psalm 90:12. 

Our days are numbered, what will they be spent doing? A "heart of wisdom" will stir within our hearts a hunger to find satisfaction in the steadfast love of God (v. 14) and the favor of the Lord (v. 17).