The “Guest-chamber” Mark 14:12-17

Text: “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the WAY ye know.”

John 14:2-4.

“Jesus saith unto him (Thomas), I am the WAY, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.”

John 14:6.

Good morning, Home-going Christian!  Having received God’s grace in Salvation and received Christ Jesus as our Saviour and Lord; and been born again of His Spirit, quickened from a dead spirit, to be a Spiritually live ‘…new creatures in Christ…’ – we are assured that the Lord Jesus has been away back to Heaven for over 2000 years preparing a place for you and I to go to when we die, or when Christ suddenly returns to take us to be with Him forever.  Wow!  Now, this thought should excite the dullest of genuine Christian souls today!

Yes, not only are you and I, and ALL genuine, Spiritually regenerated, Bible-believing Christians, assured of a ‘Home’ in Heaven – but the Lord Jesus is preparing for each of us a “mansion”!  Hallelujah!  What grace and generosity from our Holy Lord God to redeemed sinners such as we!  Can we not cry out, ‘Hallelujah! Our God reigneth!  Praise His Name!”

The Lord God Almighty only took 6 days to Create the Heavens, the earth, and all therein.  How much more Supernatural splendour shall our Heavenly ‘Guest-chamber’ contain after 2000 years of Christ’s preparation?  Let us keep this thought in our minds for every rainy day we experience.  Eternity, dwelling with Christ Jesus, is a thrill all of its own.  Thank you, dear Lord, for making this wonder possible for your people, through your suffering, dying and resurrection!

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things yea, the deep things of God.”  (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)

Verse 14-15: “…The Master saith, Where is the Guestchamber where I shall eat the Passover with My disciples?  And he will show you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us.”

The Spirit of the Living Lord God, God the Holy Spirit, reveals unto you and I that Christ is the real Lamb of God to Whom all the Old and New Testament types (illustrations) refer. John Baptist was very clear on this vital truth: “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world.”  (John 1:29)

Verse 16: “And His disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as He had said unto them: and they made ready the Passover.”

J.C. Ryle Comments:

“We ought to mark, secondly, in this passage, the intentional connection between the time of the Jewish Passover and the time of Christ’s death. We cannot doubt for a moment that it was not by chance, but by God’s providential appointment, that our Lord was crucified in the Passover week, and on the very day that the Passover lamb was slain. It was meant to draw the attention of the Jewish nation to Him as the true Lamb of God. It was meant to bring to their minds the true object and purpose of His death. Every sacrifice, no doubt, was intended to point the Jew onward to the one great sacri­fice for sin which Christ offered. But none, certainly, was so striking a figure and type of our Lord’s sacrifice, as the slaying of the Passover lamb. It was preeminently an ordinance which was a “schoolmaster unto Christ.” (Galatians 3:24) Never was there a type so full of mean­ing in the whole circle of Jewish ceremonies, as the Passover was at its original institution.

“Did the Passover remind the Jew of the marvellous deliverance of his forefathers out of the land of Egypt, when God slew the first-born? No doubt it did. But it was also meant to be a sign to him of the far greater redemption and deliverance from the bondage of sin, which was to be brought in by our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Did the Passover remind the Jew, that by the death of an innocent lamb, the families of his forefathers were once exempted from the death of their first-born? No doubt it did. But it was also meant to teach him the far higher truth, that the death of Christ on the cross was to be the life of the world.”  (J.C. Ryle’s Exposition of Mark’s Gospel)

Jesus IS God. God’s Word is truth. Spiritually regenerated Christians believe God’s Word, and like Christ’s disciples at that time, we also find, “…as He had said unto them…”  Only believe, Home-going Christian!  Keep right on trusting in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

Verse 17: “And in the evening He cometh with the twelve.”  This 21^st Century clearly reveals the signs of Christ’s return to take us, His Blood-bought people Home.  Wars, rumours of wars; earthquakes and floods; world-wide pestilence and disease; increased Sodomy; increased political corruption in ‘High places’; Christ-rejection; and anti-Christian hatred of all Bible-believing Christians are and believe.  EVENING has definitely come.

Thought: The Lord Jesus Christ comes soon to put an end to all evil and sin on this earth, and take His Bride, the true Church, Home.  Are you ready for this Passover? 

“…The Root of All Evil…” Mark 14:10-11

Text: “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

1 Timothy 6:10.

Good morning, wise-discerning Christian!  When you are reading Holy Scriptures from your KJV Bible, you are reading and studying carefully the texts you are seeking to understand.  You do well, my friend, you do very well – for it is the ‘love of money’ that causes a big problem, not its necessary use day by day; and the text has more to do with each person’s heart than it is to do with his/her purse.  Read on with wise discernment, true believer.

The now world-widely despised Judas Iscariot, who acted as Christ’s treasurer in the days of His earthly ministry was, as was Simon, a zealot (Zelotes), one whom himself despised the Roman occupation of his country, and longed for the day that a Messiah would come and deliver Israel from foreign rule. Judas looked for a political deliverer, a charismatic figure who would lead the Jewish nation to political freedom from foreign occupation by Rome.  His heart was never right.

“The Zealots were a group of Jews who began to emerge as a religious/political movement around the beginning of the 1st century CE. They strongly opposed Roman rule and turned on everyone, including other Jews, who cooperated with Rome. A subgroup of them, known as the Sicarii, frequently attacked Romans and those considered to work for them.

“The term 'zealot' is from the Hebrew kanai/kana’im (those who are "zealous on behalf of God"). The Greek term was zelotes ("emulator," "admirer," or "follower"). In the modern day, 'zeal' is applied to a person who is sometimes considered a fanatic or radical in the cause of an idea or movement.” (World History Encyclopaedia)

Judas found himself placed in the most favourable position any man could be placed in, right next to God the Son, Jesus Christ, actually watching the Lord Jesus daily performing Supernatural miracles – healing the blind; raising people from the dead; creating bread and provision enough to feed thousands of hungry followers!  Yet, he was never a true believer!

If we properly define the office of an APOSTLE, as being ‘an eye-witness of the risen Christ Jesus’ – then Judas was clearly never a genuine ‘apostle’ – unfortunately, there are many such ‘false apostles’ around today having, “…a name that thou livest, and art dead.” (Revelation 3:1)

In the Gospel account of John, we find the Lord Jesus proclaiming Judas to be “…a devil…”!  “Jesus answered them (the disciples), Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray Him, being one of the twelve.”  (John 6:70-71)

From our selected Bible reading today, we see that a love of money was Judas’ downfall, for a promise of financial gain, Judas Iscariot betrayed the sinless Jesus into the cruel hands of the chief priests of dead religion.  His love of money, revealed his heart of evil reality.

J.C. Ryle Comments:

 “In these verses, St. Mark tells us how our Lord was delivered into the hands of His enemies. It came to pass through the treachery of one of His own twelve disciples. The false apostle, Judas Iscariot, betrayed Him. “We ought to mark, firstly, in this passage, to what lengths a man may go in a false profession of religion.

“It is impossible to conceive a more striking proof of this painful truth, than the history of Judas Iscariot. If ever there was a man who at one time looked like a true disciple of Christ, and bade fair to reach heaven, that man was Judas. He was chosen by the Lord Jesus Himself to be an apostle. He was privileged to be a companion of the Messiah, and an eye-witness of His mighty works, throughout His earthly ministry. He was an associate of Peter, James, and John. He was sent forth to preach the kingdom of God, and to work miracles in Christ’s name. He was regarded by all the eleven apostles as one of themselves. He was so like his fellow disciples, that they did not suspect him of being a traitor. And yet this very man turns out at last a false-hearted child of the devil, departs entirely from the faith, assists our Lord’s deadliest enemies, and leaves the world with a worse reputation than any one since the days of Cain. Never was there such a fall, such an apostasy, such a miserable end to a fair beginning, such a total eclipse of a soul!

“And how can this amazing conduct of Judas be accounted for? There is only one answer to that question. “The love of money” was the cause of this unhappy man’s ruin. That same grovelling covetousness, which enslaved the heart of Balaam, and brought on Gehazi a leprosy, was the destruction of Iscariot’s soul. No other explanation of his behaviour will satisfy the plain statements of Scripture. His act was an act of mean covetousness, without a redeeming feature about it. The Holy Ghost declares plainly “he was a thief.” (John 12:6) And his case stands before the world as an eternal comment on the solemn words, “the love of money is the root of all evil.” (1 Timothy 6:10.)

“Let us learn from this melancholy history of Judas, to be “clothed with humility,” and to be content with nothing short of the grace of the Holy Ghost in our hearts. Know­ledge, gifts, profession, privileges, church-membership, power of preaching, praying, and talking about religion, are all useless things, if our hearts are not converted. They are all no better than sounding brass, and a tinkling cymbal, if we have not put off the old man, and put on the new. They will not deliver us from hell. Above all, let us remember our Lord’s caution, to “beware of covetousness.” (Luke 12:15) It is a sin that eats like a canker, and once admitted into our hearts, may lead us finally into every wickedness. Let us pray to be “content with such things as we have.” (Hebrews 13:5) The possession of money is not the one thing needful. Riches entail great peril on the souls of those who have them. The true Christian ought to be far more afraid of being rich than of being poor.” (J.C. Ryle’s Exposition of Mark’s Gospel)

Thought: “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”          (1 Timothy 6:6) Amen!

The Alabaster Box Mark 14:1-9

Text: “...Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7b.

Good morning, maligned Christian!  You have felt the fiery slander of many as you have sought to serve Jesus; your every outward action has been taken out of context by fault-finders around you, and then used to give a false interpretation of your inner heart’s motives.

Yet, fret not beloved saint, remember the lessons of the alabaster box and persevere in the faith.  God will always help you. 

“Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

Think for a moment about the characteristics which went to make up a vessel such as the alabaster box featured in our selected Bible passage today (V.3); for time spent in such meditations prove profitable to every Christian’s faith. 

“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”  (Psalm 119:105)

Alabaster is a substance which is made up of gypsum, calcium sulphate, from which plaster of Paris is created, often to splint around broken bones. It is mixed with water, moulded to a particular shape and, when dried, appears as a startling white, translucent, vessel of fragile vulnerability.  Alabaster, therefore, is a perfect TYPE of the Christian’s character and has so very much in common with our frail human nature.

We of the Christian faith are also made up of vulnerable constituents: we are Eternally secure, yet so easily broken; we appear startling white in outer behaviour and morals; yet our hearts are so often filled with carnal corruptions; we desire to be ever flowing with Christlikeness, yet so often are found dry and seemingly ready to crack.  Food for thought, what?

“But we have this treasure (Christ Jesus) in earthen vessels (alabaster boxes?), that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”  (2 Corinthians 4:7)

The alabaster box featured in today’s selected Bible reading was filled with precious ointment called spikenard, or pure nard, which was left in its liquid form.  The spikenard is the plant, a fragrant Indian herb; the nard is the perfumed ointment prepared from this plant.  Precious, and expensive, perfume indeed. Like the beautiful smell of the Vine.

“I am the Vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without Me (Christ Jesus) ye can do nothing.”  (John 15:1-11)

The Christian is maligned by the world due to his/her still possessing all the traits of a fallen human nature.  Yet, by God’s grace, we are filled with the Spirit of God and thus we can also manifest all the precious fruits of God the Spirit.  Hallelujah!  Glory to the Lamb! 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

Mark’s account of the alabaster box reveals the fact that the box had first to be broken before the precious ointment inside could be used to serve the Master.  (Mark 14:3) Christians, too, must often be ‘broken’, bruised, and maligned before the fruits of the Spirit are manifested to the greater glory and honour of the Lord Jesus.  (Hebrews 11:6; 31-40) (Psalm 30:5b)

J.C. Ryle Comments:

“Let us observe, in the second place, in these verses, what honour Christ loves to put on those that honour Him.

“We are told that when He “was in the house of Simon the leper,” a certain woman came while He sat at meat, and poured a box of precious ointment on His head. She did it, no doubt, out of reverence and affection. She had received soul-benefit from Him, and she thought no mark of honour too costly to be bestowed on Him in return. But this deed of hers called forth disapprobation from some who saw it. They called it “waste;” they said it might have been better to sell the ointment, and give the money to the poor. At once our Lord rebuked these cold-hearted fault-finders. He tells them that the woman “has wrought a good work,” and one that He accepts and approves; and He goes on to make a striking prediction: “Wheresoever this Gospel is preached in the whole world, there shall also this that this woman hath done be told for a memorial of her.”

“We see, in this little incident, how perfectly our Lord knew things to come, and how easy it is for Him to confer honour. This prophecy of His about this woman is receiving a fulfilment every day before our eyes. Wherever the Gospel of St. Matthew/Mark is read, the deed that she did is known. The deeds and titles of many a king, and emperor, and general, are as completely forgotten as if written in the sand; but the grateful act of one humble Christian woman is recorded in one hundred and fifty different languages, and is known all over the globe. The praise of man is but for a few days: the praise of Christ endureth for ever. The pathway to lasting honour is to honour Christ.” (J. C. Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Matthew, 1816-1900)

The world sees through much of our translucent weaknesses and finds fault to malign.  Praise God, He looks right through all our outer weaknesses to the true motives of our Christian hearts and blesses us according to our motivation, rather than the limitations of what we actually achieve.  Aim high in motivation – the Lord will do the rest.

Thought: The motives God has given us are rewarded when we try our best to act upon them for Christ’s glory.  Now, that is good news for ‘alabaster box’ Christians such as we.  The Lord bless your day, beloved Bible-believing Christian.