The Suffering Son of Man - (Mark 8:31)

SYNOPSIS:  To be the Messiah of Israel means suffering and death, though he is the promised Messiah and Lord over all things.

As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, he began to explain just what it meant to be the Messiah of Israel - suffering and death. Two more times in the gospel of Mark, Christ predicted his imminent arrest and execution (Mark 9:31, 10:33-34).

This expectation was contrary to Jewish expectations about the Messiah. There were different ideas about the Messiah current at this time, but no faithful Jew expected his suffering and death at the hands of Israel’s greatest enemy, Rome.

Why do the Nations Rage? – (Psalm 2:1-6)

SYNOPSIS: The New Testament applies the plans of the rulers of the nations to destroy the Son described in the second Psalm to the conspiracy of the leaders of the Jewish nation to slay Jesus.

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The second Psalm is recognized as messianic and applied to Jesus by the New Testament several times. But precisely when did he fulfill the predictions of this Psalm of David (e.g., Acts 13:33, Hebrews 1:6)?

According to some interpreters, the fulfillment of the promise to install the Messiah on the throne of David lies in the future, along with the predicted “rage” of the nations against him. In contrast, in his gospel account and the book of Acts, Luke applies the Psalm to the arrest, trial, execution, and resurrection of Jesus.

John, A Fellow-Participant in the Kingdom

SYNOPSIS:  Exiled to the isle of Patmos for his testimony, John is a “fellow-participant” in the Tribulation and a surrogate for the suffering churches in his visions. 

Commentaries on Revelation include discussions about the identity of John.  Who was he?  Is he the same person as the Apostle John, the son of Zebedee (John of Patmos does not identify himself as apostle or son of Zebedee)? Some argue the author of the book of Revelation must be a different John.

A Brief Introduction to the Book of Revelation

The book of Revelation records a vision received by the Apostle John while on the Isle of Patmos.  He was there “on account of the testimony of Jesus.” It was originally addressed and presumably delivered to seven Christian congregations located in key cities of the Roman province of Asia. Most likely it was penned in the late first century when Domitian was emperor in Rome (A.D. 81-96).

The Key Sign of the End of the Age

Whenever the subject of the Second Coming is raised, the inevitable question of what “sign” or “signs” will precede it is asked. Popular preaching invariably points to wars, earthquakes, tsunamis, famines, and similar catastrophes as harbingers of the end. But Jesus gave a most definitive answer:  The completion of the mission of the Church.