Now the Passover and Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize Him by stealth and kill Him; 2 for they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise there might be a riot of the people.”
3 While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. 4 But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? 5 For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. 6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. 8 She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. 9 Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”
10 Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them. 11 They were glad when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time. —Mark 14:1-11
Sermon Outline
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He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. —Mathew 12:30
Weekly Study Guide
The last week in the life of Jesus leading up to the crucifixion was full of significant events. One of the most important events of that final week is known as the “Olivet Discourse.” This is a message we see recorded in Matthew 24-25 (also detailed in Mark and Luke) that Jesus gave to His disciples, answering a question that was burning in each of their minds: “What about the kingdom?”
By this point in the ministry of Jesus, the disciples had seen enough to be convinced that He was the Messiah. But the final piece of the messianic puzzle was surely plaguing them. They had been taught all their lives that when Messiah came, the Messianic kingdom would be established. The Old Testament was abundantly clear that it was in this kingdom that Israel would see the restoration and renewal of all things. Wrongs would be made right. And the Messiah would reign on David’s literal, political throne here on earth. It was in the coming of the kingdom that Israel would receive the fulfillment of the many promises God had made to them all throughout their history. (See weeks 29 and 40 in the Acts book 3 study guide for a fuller discussion of the Jewish “kingdom expectation”.)
We have already seen that the purpose of Matthew in writing his gospel was to answer the very specific question: if Jesus was indeed the Messianic king, why had the kingdom not yet been established? Here, in the Olivet Discourse, Jesus proceeds to tie a bow on that question by answering the disciples’ follow-up question: if you’re not bringing in the kingdom now, when will it happen?
The order of events that bracket the Olivet Discourse is very telling. Immediately preceding and following this important teaching by Jesus are two other teachings that set the Olivet Discourse in its context. In the prior chapter (Matthew 23), Jesus closed His public ministry in a powerful way. We see Jesus spend an entire chapter forcefully denouncing the leadership of Israel directly to their face—for their role (and guilt) in leading Israel to reject the Messiahship of Jesus and His offer of the kingdom. Jesus lets them have it with both barrels in calling out their hypocrisy and condemning them for usurping the authority of the Law of Moses with their own self-appointed authority.
He punctuates this stinging rebuke by revealing that, as a result of this rejection, He will not return until Israel actually requests His return (Matt 23:37-39; Hos 5:15-6:2). From this point on in His ministry, Jesus would deal only with His disciples and not the nation at large. This passion-filled outburst by Jesus set the stage for and actually propelled Jesus into the message regarding the end of the age we see in the Olivet Discourse. This was not some calm, serene, chat with Jesus and His disciples sitting under the shade of the olive trees. This was a passionate, fiery message fueled by the climactic, fire-and-brimstone, blistering confrontation Jesus just had with the Pharisees.
What closes the bracket on the other side of the Olivet Discourse is the last Passover and the first Lord’s Supper. Here we see Jesus give the Upper Room Discourse, where He transitions in His role from Prophet to Priest. Many of us have understood that Jesus holds all three sacred offices: Prophet, Priest, and King. But what is often misunderstood is that He does not hold these offices simultaneously, but rather, chronologically. During His first coming and His 3-year ministry, Jesus functioned in the office of a Prophet. In the Upper Room Discourse, He makes the transition to the office of Priest—where He now sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. And it is only when He comes in glory to sit on the throne of David that He will function in His role as King. Clearly, this teaching in Matthew chapters 24-25 comes at an absolute climax in the ministry of Jesus.
With that context in place, what were the questions Jesus was answering in Matthew chapters 24-25? In other words, what was the purpose of the Olivet Discourse? As Jesus and the disciples left the temple compound, with the Pharisees no doubt seething from being taken to the woodshed, the disciples point out to Jesus the amazing structure of Herod’s temple. Jesus then “tees up” the next question from the disciples by noting that none of the stones they were marveling at would be left standing upon each other in the coming destruction. These stones, still visible under the western wall of the temple compound today, measure some 26 feet long and weigh over 100 tons. The disciples naturally took the bait and asked Jesus when this destruction would take place, and how and when the Messianic kingdom would be established. They were beginning to understand that, in light of Israel’s rejection of the offer of the kingdom by Israel (as seen in Matthew chapter 12), it was impossible to set up the kingdom at that time. As they left the temple mount and reached the other side of the ravine and sat down on the Mount of Olives, Jesus began His answer.
While Matthew gives us a helpful structure and timeline for how these events transpired, we need to look to all three gospel accounts to fill out the picture of what was being asked and how Jesus answered each question separately. All in all, three questions were asked, and three signs were requested. The first question is recorded in the Matthew account: “Tell us, when shall these things be?” (Matt 24:3) This points back to the destruction of the temple Jesus had just made reference to. Luke adds a bit of detail to this first question by adding the note, “And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” (Luke 21:7) In other words, the disciples are asking when the temple will be destroyed and what the will be that it is about to happen.
The second question asked was, “What will be the sign of your coming?” (Matt 24:3) Included in this question is the request for a sign. This question is not asking about the rapture of the church, in that it is clear from other passages that the rapture is imminent (after 70 AD), and there is no sign that precedes it. However, we learn from this teaching by Jesus that the Second Coming has a very clear sign that announces its arrival.
The third question was, “What will be the sign of the end of the age?” (Matt 24:3) In Jewish thinking of that day, there were to be two “ages”—”this age,” and “the age to come.” They were asking what the sign would be that “this age” was ending—and the Messianic Age was beginning.
Jesus was asked three total questions and He answers all three, but not in the order they were asked. Also, the disciples asked Jesus for specific signs, yet He begins by detailing some “non-signs.” He first sets the stage by describing some general characteristics of the church age: the rise of false messiahs, and the coming of local wars (Matt 24:4-6). He emphasizes that these were non-signs by pointing out that these things must come to pass, but He says that this is not yet the end.
Having set the stage, Jesus begins answering these questions by addressing the third question first. In Matt 24:7-8 He says that the end of the age will be signaled by “…nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom”. This phrase is a Jewish idiom for the idea of a world-wide war. This is in contrast to the non-signs He mentioned earlier of local wars. These world wars will be accompanied by famines and earthquakes. World wars, Jesus says, signal the fact that the end of the age has begun. And He characterized this as the beginning of the birth-pangs. What do we know about birth pangs? We know that once they begin, the birth is inevitable and will be accomplished soon. One of the most remarkable and even miraculous consequences of the two world wars was the rebirth of the nation of Israel in 1948—something which further sets the stage for the coming of the end.
Before proceeding to answer the other two questions, Jesus describes what awaits the apostles in their own time (Mark 13:9-13 and Luke 21:12-19). He describes the persecution they will endure both in synagogues and in prison, but comforts them that He will be with them through it all. We see this unfold before us in the book of Acts.
Jesus then answers the first of the remaining two questions. In Luke 21:20-24, Jesus describes the coming destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem. What is most remarkable about His answer is that while Jesus granted their request for a sign (a sign that would mark the arrival of the destruction of Jerusalem), He also instructed them that when they saw this sign, they were to flee to the mountains.
Jesus says that the city of Jerusalem being surrounded by armies was that very sign. The question then follows: if the city is surrounded, how then would they be able to flee? History gives us the remarkable answer. In 66 A.D., the Jewish revolt against Rome began. The Roman general stationed in Israel brought his army from Caesarea up to Jerusalem and surrounded it—not expecting much resistance. To his surprise, the city was well prepared for a lengthy siege and valiantly fought back—holding off the mighty Roman army. Thus Gallus, the Roman general, lifted the siege and returned to Caesarea to await reinforcements. This lifting of the siege afforded the Christians time to actually flee the city as Jesus had instructed. When the Roman army returned, although over 1.1 million Jews died at the hands of the Romans in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., it is believed that none of them were Messianic believers. These followers of Yeshua (Jesus) heeded His call to flee the city after Jerusalem was surrounded.
As we move into Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ second question (the final of the three questions He answers), it is important to notice that there are similarities between Jesus’ answer to the first question (regarding the details describing the destruction of the city of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.), and the details of the answer to the second (and final) question regarding the sign of His coming at the end of the tribulation period. These similarities reveal that God often gives us a preview of things to come in the events of history. For example, God gave us (through Daniel) a preview of the antichrist and his activities in the person of the Greek ruler Antiochus Epiphanes (167 B.C.)—who desecrated the Holy of Holies. This historical event paints a picture for us of what the Antichrist will do when he eventually comes. God always prepares us for what is to come. One of the ways He does that is through these prophetic previews.
Here, in the Olivet Discourse, God gives us a preview of the coming destruction that will happen in the tribulation period by mirroring some of the events back in 70 A.D. In both situations, the Jews are told to flee. In 70 A.D., they fled to Pella, across the Jordan river, outside the territory that that particular Roman procurator had control over—in order to escape that destruction. During the coming tribulation, the Jews will flee to Bozrah (in Petra) to escape the persecution of the antichrist (Isa 34:1-7, 63:1-6).
So, the second question the disciples asked (and the final question Jesus answers) is regarding the sign of His coming at the end of the age. Here (Matt 24:15) Jesus points His disciples to the book of Daniel, which describes the “Abomination of Desolations” in chapters 9, 11, & 12. This is the mid-point of the tribulation and will start a countdown of 1260 days until His return. This will be the signal for the Jews to flee. But this tribulation period will culminate in the return of Messiah in glory. The specific sign Jesus points to, following the countdown, is the sign that will appear in the sky in Matt 24:29-30.
After answering the three questions and describing the signs of those events, Jesus then goes on to provide more information regarding the last days. He describes a world-wide regathering of His people Israel from the four corners of the earth. He then gives a series of parables that illustrate His exhortation to believers to look up—for our redemption “draweth nigh”. He also gives an exhortation to unbelievers to believe on the Messiah, for that is the only way to escape the horrors of the time of the tribulation, where we will see the outpouring of the wrath of God on the usurpers of this realm. Jesus also gives an exhortation to the those who will be present during the tribulation. To the Jews who will be present then, He says to be ready to flee. And to the Gentiles, He says to watch, be ready, and to labor. This is the most comprehensive treatment of end times events Jesus gives us. And when we examine it through the lens of the Jewish context of the times, and of His audience, it comes much more clearly into focus.
Discussion questions:
- In this story we see a beautiful, selfless act done for Jesus. What is the most selfless act you have seen someone do for another?
- Read Mark 14:3-9 and the parallel passages in Matt 26:6-13 and John 12:1-8. What details stand out to you about this story? Why do you think the disciples are indignant? What is Jesus’ reaction to what Mary did? Why do you think Mary understood that Jesus was about to die, when the disciples apparently did not? What does this loving act teach us about earthly priorities and having an eternal perspective?
- What did Jesus mean in Mark 14:7? Does this statement have more to do with the poor, or with Jesus? What did Jesus mean in Mark 14:9? Why do you think this act holds this kind of significance? What does this act (and Jesus’ response) say about how we typically view and treat Jesus? Do you feel like we give Jesus the honor He is due in our daily lives? Why or why not?
- One thing that stands out about this act by Mary is its selfless character. No matter the cost, no matter the scorn, she was going to worship Jesus. In what ways is the worship happening today in the church more self-centered than God-centered? What are some examples of selfless, God-centered worship you see today? How might we move toward a more God-centered approach in our worship?
- What do we learn about worship from this simple act by this woman in Mark 14:3? What does worship look like in your life? What would you like to change about how you worship? What is one step you will take this week to make that happen?
Going deeper:
Read Mark 14:10-11 and the parallel passages in Matt 26:14-16 and Luke 22:3-6. What details stand out to you about this event? What is different about what happened to Judas from what normally happens to someone who is described as demon-possessed in scripture? Why is this significant? How do you see the strategies of Satan at play here in His long war against God?
Jesus told His disciples many times that He was destined to die, but somehow it never really sank in. Read Matt 16:21, 17:22-23, 20:17-19, and 26:1-2. What is different about this latest proclamation of Jesus in Matthew chapter 26? Why do you think it was so difficult for the disciples to comprehend that Jesus was going to die? Read John 11:47-57. What is remarkable about this passage? What is the surface reason that the religious leaders wanted Jesus dead? What underlying reasons are also motivating their plot?