January 10, 2011 – Mark 13:14 - 14:9

13:14 – Here we see the prophesy Christ gave letting the Christians know that when Rome came to attack Jerusalem, get out of Dodge. Therefore, when Rome came, around 70 A.D., not a single Christian was killed when they destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. Christ telling them to get out of town sounds a lot like Him telling Lot to get out of Sodom and Gomorrah. Not to take anything, not to look back, not to hesitate once you realize it is coming.

14:3 – I was interested in how much spikenard would cost. John 12:3-6 talks about Christ being anointed with this oil and it being worth 300 days wages. Basically it is a year’s salary. I looked that up before I got to the part where it says it was 300 days wages in this chapter as well. But what I find interesting is that in John it says Judas was the one that makes a big deal about giving the money to the poor and the waste. Then, right after this, we see Judas going about his betrayal. Do we see part of Judas’ motivation. If you have ever seen “The Last Temptation of Christ” there is the theory that Judas was adamant that the Christ was to be a military hero, a captain that would lead Israel to defeat the Romans and make Israel a great nation. That seems to make a sense, if Judas was waiting for military build-up, which would require money, and sees that Christ does not care about saving money, it may have been the straw that broke his back. He seeks to make a little money and go it on his own, only to realize too late that he was on the wrong track.