Living Off-the-Grid while In-the-World”

As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?” Mark 13:3-4

(Mark is writing to the Roman Christians)

Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” Matthew 24:3

(Matthew is originally writing  to the Hebrew/Messianic/Jewish Christians In Judea)

In this Lenten 2021 devotion, in these two-verses from Mark, we can learn several ways to stay plugged into the agenda of God’s Kingdom in the midst of these difficult end-times… by sitting at His feet…swimming against the current of the world…developing godly friendships…asking great questions …and guarding our privacy!  We must stay engaged in this world building with costly grace,  unconditional love, acceptance without approval  and forgiveness and compassion without compromise!

Mark Chapter 13 is the famous private Olivet Discourse given by Jesus while sitting on the Mount of Olives.  Someone coined the phrase, “The Little Apocalypse” to describe this twilight teaching of the Suffering Servant two days befor His crucifixion .  Ray Stedman, an influential  evangelical teacher from my neck of the woods in the San Francisco Bay Area, called it the “Olivet Prophecy: The most detailed prediction in the Bible…There are many predictive passages in both the Old and New Testaments, but none is clearer or more detailed than the message Jesus delivered from the Mount of Olives. This message was given during the turbulent events of the Lord’s last week before the cross” (What on Earth Is Happening? What Jesus Said About the End of the Age. Discovery House Publishers, 2003). 

Likely, Jesus, the Master-teacher, is facing eastward from the western slope of the Mount of Olives while informing and warning the disciples of the ‘things to come…the sign of His coming and the end of the age’. The parallel passages are critical to be familiar with in Matthew 24-25 & Luke 21.. Contextually and historically so much is unfolding around this ‘end-times’ admonishment  to a kingdom lifestyle. 

• Jesus knew His hour had come to be despised, rejected, crucified and raised again. He knew this was His final visit to Jerusalem to complete His mission given to Him by the Father. Popularity was waning and the tide of persecution was waxing stronger. (Mark 10:32-34)

• Jesus arrived in Bethany to stay with his close friends, Lazarus (whom He just raised from the dead), Martha and Mary, on the eastern slope or hip of the Mount of Olives 6-days before the Passover and His crucifixion (John 12:1). He would spend the days in Jerusalem teaching  in the temple area. His nights would be spent on the Mount of Olives, presumably at the home of Lazarus, perhaps a night at the home of  Simon the Leper and certainly one night under the light of the moon and the stars in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 10:19; Luke 21:37-38)

• A few days earlier He was carried on a donkey while the Jewish crowds waved palm branches and  proclaimed, “Hosanna in the highest, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Mark 11:1-10)

• The religious leaders, the Roman government and Herod Antipas who governed the Galilee province  (Herod the Great’s son, the “fox”, allowed the beheading of John-the-Baptist; and soon to be “friend” of Pontius Pilate) were plotting how to kill Jesus. (Mark 12:12; Luke 13:31; 20:19-20).  Jesus was from Nazareth of the Galilee , this is why Herod Antipas was pulled into the night kangaroo court. Herod was in Jerusalem for Passover. 

• The satanic  juices of embezzlement, the love of money and  betrayal were flowing in the heart of Judas to force the hand of Jesus with the enraged jealous religious leaders and the bloody Romans.  In fact, the next day AFTER this teaching, Satan enters the heart of Judas Iscariot and he agrees to find a vulnerable private moment when they can arrest Jesus. 

James Tissot, The Exhortation to the Apostles, circa 1886–1894.

From the historical context,  and the  triadic question of Peter, John, James and Andrew,  what can we learn about the nature and challenge of  Apocalyptic-Discipleship (Disciples of Jesus @ the End of the Age) in the “end of the age”? 

• Find the Vantage Point @ the Feet of Jesus:  AD’s Seek & Find the High Ground at the Feet of Jesus! “As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives”.  “Sitting” has two connotations, both of which help understand the significance of this moment. Jesus was “sitting” as a Master-teacher or a prophet in a place of  authority, a throne, a place of rule.  Secondly, ‘sitting’ points toward permanent residence or ‘to dwell’ in a place as a regional productive  citizen. 

    As citizens of heaven and pilgrims on this earth, we must be careful from whom and where we gather our information. 

Where are you getting your intelligence? Knowledge? Who is fact checking you? 

The internet and social media is for the most part a double-edged sword of knowledge. We must spend more and more devotional time in the presence of God at the feet of Jesus with our hearts, mind and bibles open to His truth. We are “seated together with Christ in heavenly places” (Ephesians 1).  Ephesians has a very specific kingdom of God rhythm…SIT, WALK, STAND. We have access to the throne of grace in our troublesome lives and days we live in. 

 

Apocalyptically,  according to the prophet Zechariah, when Jesus, the Son of Man, descends from heaven to defend Jerusalem, His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives and cause a great earthquake to split the mountain in two and two rivers will break forth from Jerusalem to water the region (Zechariah 14:1-8).  So whether or not Jesus is “sitting” or “standing”, AT HIS FEET in humble surrender is the safest place to be! The ‘ad-vantage’ is finding the ‘vantage’ point, the perspective needed to gain an accurate view. I have a friend who taught me to pray, “Lord help me to be at the right place at the right time, and not the wrong place at the wrong time. Amen”.  The unshakeable  ‘high ground’ is where Jesus is sitting. The Psalmist says, “Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.” May we more and more learn to ‘go-off-the-grid’ from the world’s philosophies, entertainment, agenda and priorities…and “abide” or ‘plug-in’ to Jesus as The Way , the Truth and the Life! 

 Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord. (Jer.9:23-24)

• Swim Against the Currents of the World: In these difficult days,  if you ‘go with the flow’ you will end up where you don’t want to go!  We must live in the opposite spirit that is being released in this world. We not only need “perspective” but we need to be possessed by the Holy Spirit. To be filled or baptized in the Holy Spirit is to be in direct opposition to the philosophies  of the age, the passions of the flesh and prince of the power of the air. At twilight, Jesus and the disciples were sitting “opposite the temple.”  Jesus was building His church in the now, knowing the physical Temple and the City of Jerusalem was going to be destroyed in about a generation (40 years) of time.  He was the Chief Cornerstone and He was building the foundation of the church with His friends the apostles by using the prophetic Scriptures of the Jews.  This “Little Apocalypse” must be understood by reviewing prophetic literature of Daniel, Zechariah, Isaiah etc. Clearly, Jesus did not put together an army of revolutionaries to overthrow Rome. He did not lead a mob with sticks, molotov cocktails, and stones to bull rush the capital of Jerusalem and lay siege to the Temple.  He came in a spirit of humility to serve and lay down His life as an atonement for the sins of all Jews, Romans and the entire world of humanity.  He was Jewish but His blood was Adamic spilled for all nations, tribes and tongues that sprung forth from Adam and Eve. 

    The ‘stumbling stone’ of Judas Iscariot was “the cross”. The “stumbling stone’ of Peter was “the cross”. The ‘stumbling stone’ of Saul of Tarsus was “the cross”.   A suffering Messiah was the opposite of a military leader who would come in like a Davidic warrior riding an iron chariot drawn by four horses to break the back of the pagan Romans. “Turn your cheek”…”put down your sword”…”go two miles”…”love your enemies”…”pray for those who persecute you”…”forgive them for they not what they do 490 times”……the fact is  these are the words of Conquering King, but of a kingdom not of this world. A kingdom that is ruled by peace, joy and righteousness. A kingdom that delivers men, women and children from the blackness of the kingdom of darkness into a rulership of redemption and light (Col.1:13-14).  

I am not naive, Jesus will come again as a Lion of the tribe of Judah. He will come with a final wrath to consume with a fiery judgement of the ungodly for all the ungodly deeds.  Vengeance exclusively belongs to the Lord God not to us His people.  Listen carefully to Enoch, like Jesus, prophesied to his generation of the judgement to come in Jude,

“Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” 16 These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.”

Let me boil this call to AD (Apocalyptic-Discipleship) in the “opposite spirit” to a word picture…As follower’s of Jesus, Yeshua, the Messiah, we must refuse to crush people  who are different than us with religious stones, political stones, economic stones, racial stones, but like Jesus the Wise Master-builder, the Stone Mason, we pick up “living stones”, we pick up each other and we learn to dwell together in unity, we learn to work together 

PLEASE WATCH THIS EPIC BEAUTIFUL 3-MINUTE CLIP FROM THE MOVIE, BROTHER SUN, SISTER MOON. THIS CLIP REALLY CAPTURES OUR CALL TO THE PURPOSE OF BUILDING THE CHURCH WITH JESUS TOGETHER AS FRIENDS. WE ALL HAVE A PART TO PLAY, A GOOD MINISTRY TO FULFILL!

(Francis of Assisi is restoring an old church and his friend Bernardo is wondering if his friend is mentally stable)

CLICK> If You Want Your Dream To Be … [brother sun, sister moon]

• Disciple/Mentor/Befriend  the Next Generation: Jesus was teaching from His field office. He was entrusting these end-time truths to His friends “Peter, James, John and Andrew.”  AD’s are in a 4×4 fellowship.  Friendship forged in the presence of Jesus will survive the shaking ahead. Like a 4-wheel drive all terrain truck, we need each other to go where Jesus is sending us into the remotest parts of human experience. C.S. Lewis in his book, The Four Loves, reveals an important truth about genuine productive friendship, “Friendship must be about something, even if it were only an enthusiasm for dominoes or white mice.  Those who have nothing can share nothing; those who are going nowhere can have no fellow-travellers.”

• Be Specific with Your Questions:  The disciples learned how to ask the right questions over the past few years with Jesus.  AD’s must be “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger” (James, the brother of Jesus) in the last days. A great question can open a treasure-trove of divine treasures of revelation! “When?” and “What?” invited very specific answers. These questions opened the disciples’ understanding to the “seasons” and “the times” of the Lord. Artful questions create an avenue for wisdom and discernment to download to the grid of our heart and mind and behavior. Urgency and proper preparation often follows carefully crafted inquiries. Privately Ask questions of the Lord and then listen carefully in quietness, solitude and trust.

• Practice Privacy:  The disciples came to Jesus “privately”.  The “secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him and He will make them know His covenant”(Ps.25:14). I will give you the treasures of darkness; And hidden wealth of secret places, So that you may know that it is I, The Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name (Is.45:3).  Our giving, praying and fasting in the end-times must be exercised  in “secret” before the Father who sees in “secret” in order to secure His reward. The more ‘public’ we make our spiritual disciplines for others to see, we run the risk diminishing our reward from Him.